A Different Reality
by The Mother Rose
Summary: AU. Just a humorous little story my Hubby wanted me to post for you. Second chapter half written. More to come if you like it. Naruto is a girl working undercover for the Hokage along with Hinata.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: Ok As you know I don't own the Naruto verse. Hubby wanted me to post this so you could all read it and tell me what you think of it. He says see what you all say as to whether or not to continue this story. I have begun a second chapter but if you guys don't like it then there most likely won't be a third. And I'll take no reviews as a sign you don't like it. The more reviews I get the more likely I'll keep working on it. For my regular readers I love you guys and gals. You keep me at my keyboard and away from housework. Whoo Hoo. You guys are great.**

A Different Reality

Eh? What Just Happened?

Namikaze Natsu Sukai sat in the academy classroom waiting for the day to begin. Sometimes working in the shadows for Jijii could be a lot of fun but other times it was just plain out boring. This latest assignment he'd given her was just one such example of the boring.

She was here, using her transformation skill, to make her seem to be a boy so Jijii could keep a closer eye on one of the students. Her transformation skill was a skill unique to herself. She didn't do henges like the normal shinobi did. Her henges were actual solid changes. What she pictured in her mind for herself is what she actually became. Unlike the normal henge she did not have to dedicate a part of her mind to holding that image once the transformation was completed either. She could transform herself and forget about it until it either began to hurt or it was time to drop it again.

Uchiha Sasuke. It was her job to guard him and make sure he was safe in the village. Jijii was sure no one from the village would knowingly hurt the brat like they had her. But then again he'd been sure they wouldn't hurt her either. So he'd asked her to keep an eye on Sasuke for him.

She also wrote out reports on him. Once a week she would fill in a report detailing everything he'd done that week and if he'd spoken who it was to and what he'd said. Even if all he'd said was "Hn"which was alot -in fact sometimes she really didn't think he could say anything else- you'd know it from her report. Maybe Itachi messing with his mind the way he had did something to his ability to actually speak and because he only ever said Hn or No no one knew he couldn't talk. Caveman Sasuke. Heehee.

At first she'd been excited to accept the mission. After all, what kid wasn't excited at the thought of maybe being able to make new friends their own age? Yeah. That was another reason why Jijii had given her this mission instead of someone else. She and Sasuke were the same age. Both of them were orphans who lived alone with no guardian or parental type to help keep them on an even keel or teach them anything about becoming an adult or a shinobi. Both of them being considered of too high a birth for adoption neither were ever eligible for it. Natsu, because of who her Tousan had been during his life as well as who had been her Kaasan, and Sasuke, because he was an Uchiha.

Natsu was the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and of Uzumaki Kushina known far and wide as the Whirling Red Death for her water based attacks that could and would kill anything in it's path. But although the Council of Konoha knew the identity of both her Kaasan and her Tousan they didn't understand the risk of her finding a good home didn't stop with just those two names. Yondaime's parents were a secret he held close to his breast lest they be hurt because of who he grew up to be. But they were just as well known as he was and that had overshadowed his early years just as his fame had overshadowed Natsu's. Her Grandmother was Tsunade of the Legendary Three and her Grandfather was Jiraiya another of the Legendary Three.

Kushina had turned out to have just as noteworthy of a linage when Jijii had checked into it. She was the only living child of a younger son of the present Daimyo of Water Country making her the granddaughter of the Daimyo and Natsu the great granddaughter of the man. Once again this brought Natsu into a position where she could become a political tool if she was given into the care of the wrong person.

For Sasuke, the story was different in that his ancestry was well known in Konoha. Everyone knew he was the scion of the Great Uchiha clan that had been massacred by his own older brother. They knew his brother had tormented him and then left him alive to live with the knowledge of what he'd done. Almost everyone wanted to take the boy in and raise him as a part of their own household but Sandaime said no. He said that as the last Uchiha in Konoha the temptation to misuse their position as his guardian to usurp power and privilege that was not their own was too great and would only cause the boy more harm than good. But the truth was Sarutobi had known the boy needed the help of the Yamanaka clan and knew there was no way he would be allowed to give him into their care by the council who would not see the small three member clan as being worthy of the raising of the Last Uchiha. So he determined that no one would be allowed to adopt Sasuke any more than anyone was allowed to adopt Natsu.

This was Sasuke's last year as an academy student though and Natsu was seeing a light at the end of what had been a very long tunnel. She could get out of this role she was playing and back to doing the job she loved for the only adult in Konoha who ever saw the real her. Today was their genin exam and luckily they were going in alphabetical order so she would be able to see how her target did before she took her own test in each area. This was a good thing for her because if he didn't pass a section of the test she could make sure she didn't either. She thought it was funny how everyone called him a genius like his brother, not realizing the insult they were giving him. After all, his brother had been such a genius, he'd snapped and killed his entire clan in just a few short hours. More than once she'd been tempted to punch some idiot who called him that but her natural humor would always assert itself and she'd walk away trying to contain her giggles instead. Because the truth was Sasuke was not a genius at all. He was smart but he never looked or listened beyond what he saw or heard. He never gave any thought to what might lie unseen or unspoken as a true genius would. To him, if he was told two plus two equaled three he believed it did even if he knew it really equaled four. His mind would simply forget what his own logic told him and accept the words given by someone else. Which probably explained why he believed that crap she'd heard his brother told him the night he'd slaughtered the clan.

His method of fighting was disgustingly simple to figure out and counter as well. He used a straight Uchiha based fighting style of ninjutsu and taijutsu. For him, there was no such thing as a straight Taijutsu battle which made him dangerous for the other academy students, most of whom did not know any ninjutsu other than the three tricks taught at the academy. Konoha did not have any families that specialized in water based attacks so countering the Uchiha fire based attacks was difficult and had indirectly led to the stuck-up belief the village had that the Uchiha's were the greatest of the clans next to the Hyuuga's. To beat him, all you really needed was a few good water jutsu though and an unorthodoxed method of taijutsu that allowed you to be where he least expected you to be. Natsu had both but humiliating the brat was not her job and so she pretended to be overwhelmed by his prowess every time they were paired for sparring.

The other kids in the class began to trickle in, including her partner in this assignment. Hyuuga Hinata took her seat next to Natsu and using facial expressions and body language asked how the night had gone. She told her what Sasuke had done the previous day from after school until he'd finally gone to bed for the night and she'd turned the watch over to another of their group.

"_So are we going to pass this time?"_

"_I think so. He's definitely learned what he needs to know to easily pass this simple exam."_

"_Yeah but we both know he's an idiot."_

"_Hai. He's too literal to understand the best don't flaunt it."_ Natsu sighed. _"Just don't forget to keep your henge active. If any word of your true eyes gets back to your clan then there's no telling what will happen."_

"_I know. I have it tied to my spirit energy instead of my chakra so it should be fine. Just don't let yours slip either. Sarutobi-sama said he'd get us both placed on the Teme's team if we do pass."_

"_Kuso. I was hoping we'd be done if he passed."_

Hinata giggled. _"No such luck. We have to stay with him until he reaches a point where he can defend himself against anyone who comes for him."_

Natsu made a face and swore again. _"That damn Teme. He'll never be able to defend himself that well. He's too engrossed in his revenge to ever learn to pay attention."_

"_Hai but you know there is a silver lining to all this."_

"_Eh?"_

"_He isn't what the council wants him to be." _Natsu just looked at her waiting for the so called gentle girl to continue."_He's sterile for one, gay for a second, and he won't ever get the sharingan. His optic nerves are too weak."_

"_How do you know he's gay?"_

"_I watched him when he wasn't aware of it. He really likes to watch your alter doing your kata for taijutsu class. And I do mean, really likes to watch you."_

"_Ewww. That's just gross, Hinata."_

Hinata giggled again. _"Just because your maturity is delayed doesn't mean his is. In this world we live in you know we mature faster than normal people do."_

"_Yeah but."_ Natsu was flabbergasted. _"Still that's just. . . disgusting."_

In his office Sarutobi was watching his two undercover students talking without words and since they'd worked the language out between the three of them, he was able to follow their dialogue. He was currently laughing at the shock and disgust being displayed by his favorite village child. Natsu was such an innocent still for all that she'd already killed multiple times. What Hinata had said about Natsu have a delayed maturity was nothing more than the truth. Natsu, due either to her natural genes or the Fox she imprisoned, would not reach true puberty until she was around fifteen or so. She knew the difference between boys and girls but it didn't affect her like other kids her age. While they all were beginning to look for a mate she looked only for a friend.

However, the news Hinata had given her as to the Uchiha boy's leanings and sterility were quite interesting. His never gaining the Sharingan however really meant very little. He was still at risk since the potential for it was carried in his genes and could be passed to the next generation through him. But if the boy were really gay he would never consent to breeding a child willingly. And if he were actually sterile it would never happen even if he did consent. If his little Uchiha could not fire a live round then it really didn't matter who was on the range. There wouldn't be any more Uchiha's from his line.

Sarutobi pondered how to best test this without the council finding out. Because one thing he was sure of and that was the council's reaction to his condition. They would first off subject the boy to being treated as a labrat to try and fix whatever was wrong that made it impossible for him to gain the sharingan and then to fix his sterility issue. Then he'd be sent for psychological training to reverse his interest in his own sex over the opposite sex. Sarutobi knew the interest in boys was more than likely due more to the trauma of being chased everywhere by silly little girls who's Kaasan's had told them of his position and the fame they could bring their family if they caught his interest. However, he frowned, he also didn't like what Hinata had said about the boy watching his Natsu like that either. Even if the character the Uchiha thought he was watching didn't exist Sarutobi didn't like it one bit. That was still his pseudo-granddaughter and damned if that boy was good enough for her. Come to think of it, in his eyes there wasn't anyone good enough for his two little pseudo-granddaughters.

Hiashi knocked a particular code on his office door and Sarutobi bade him to enter. He often came by whenever he could shake his council to check up on Hinata. To him, she was and always would be his daughter. He loved her dearly and it was only a wish to see her safe that had led him to such drastic measures as casting her out. Though he also loved Hanabi, Hinata was his princess and always would be. She was her Kaasan's daughter and in his eyes much better than Hanabi ever would be, though Hanabi did make the clan council happier with her quick and easy grasp of the Hyuuga fighting style. The fact that she wasn't afraid to use the seal on the branch members also pleased the council though Hiashi had beat the girl for actually killing a helpless three year old just because the child tripped.

It had been three days before Hanabi could move without pain from the thrashing Hiashi had subjected her to and when she had recovered he'd called her into his office and told her point blank that if she ever killed another member of their family he would have her branded herself and take a new wife for the purpose of breeding a new heir. He would not promote a murderer to head of the clan status. Hanabi had protested that her actions were justified since the clumsy child had broken her vase.

He had told her point blank the child was three and the vase had been much too heavy for such a young child to safely carry and regardless of that the child was the only offspring her parents would ever have and had nearly died being born. He had then informed the cocky girl of how many things she had broken as a clumsy three year old and asked if any of those items were worth her life.

The talk hadn't done a lot of good until Hanabi had whined to the council about it. She'd been informed by the council of the truth of her Tousan's words. He was the head of the clan and that meant if he chose to brand her there wasn't a thing the council could do about it. They had matter of factly told Hanabi that they would be pleased if Hiashi would consent to taking another wife and trying again for an heir as they really felt a male heir would be better for athe clan than a female anyway. After that, Hanabi had grown a fear of using the handsigns to activate anyone's seal whenever he was around though he was always aware of when she wished to use it and he would give her a cold stare that dared her to defy him. Even when he wasn't there someone from the clan council was and they would give her an eager look that practically begged her to do it. She just knew they'd tell him and she'd get the brand.

When Sarutobi had heard of the incident he'd questioned Hiashi about it and the man showed genuine sadness and fear. He didn't want to brand his daughter but he would also act in the best interest of his clan. If his heir could not be trusted to show compassion to her family, than she did not deserve to be the heir. Being proud of becoming the Heir in the place of her sister was one thing but to be so arrogant as to think she had the right to just randomly kill little children was something else entirely. She needed to learn patience and tolerance and if threats were all she could understand, then he would threaten her until she learned. And this was the basis for why he liked Hinata better than he did Hanabi.

Hinata, he had never needed to threaten. She had always understood everyone in that compound was her family. She had always treated every single person with the same generosity of spirit that she wished to be shown. She had cared for all of them whether they were old or young, main branch or secondary, simple minded or prodigy, sickly or healthy. It didn't matter to Hinata. They were, when all was said and done, her family and she would protect them and care for them until she had nothing left to give.

Hanabi was the exact opposite. She cared only for those she saw as her equal or better. And that was only those who sat on the council or her Tousan.

"Maybe it would be best if, after Hinata is gone from the academy, you enrolled Hanabi. I believe it would benefit her to be around other clan children for a while. Maybe if a few of them knock her on her butt a few times, she'll realize what she hasn't had the chance to see yet," said Sarutobi.

"I am thinking about it but the council will never agree to having the sole heir become an actual shinobi. She would only be allowed to attend if they had the promise that she would not be allowed to take the headband."

"That can be arranged. You are right about not wishing to have an heir who is nothing more than a murderer but for her to truly understand why she can not just do as she wishes first she must learn she is not as highly born as she thinks she is. There is actually a girl in this village that outstrips all our ranks."

"Natsu?"

"Hai. Her linage is noble beyond any other shinobi."

"Someday you will explain that to me."

Sarutobi laughed. "Since you do not have a male to pair her with, I will tell you but it goes no further than this office." He waited for the nod of agreement and when it was given he continued. "Her Otousan was Minato as you know. Her grandmother on that side is Tsunade who as you know is related to the Fire Daimyo, though the connection is old and thin. Then there is Natsu's Kaasan. Uzumaki Kushina was the Granddaughter of the Water Daimyo, making Natsu his great granddaughter and if that man ever gets one look at Natsu he will know instantly who she is. Our claim to her is only stronger than his because she was born here making her an automatic citizen of the Fire Country. Her standing in the Water Nation is actually higher than it is here in the Fire Country because her claim to the throne in Water is closer than her claim to the Fire throne."

"So even though we call Hinata a princess the real princess is her best friend and housemate?"

"Hai. That's why I am so very protective of the girl as well. She is just too high born for anyone to discover in this village. Yet at the same time there is no safer place for her either. Because she is related to the Fire Daimyo I can't turn her over to the Water Daimyo and that's even if she wasn't the vessel for the demon. For the same reason she wouldn't be able to live with the Fire Daimyo and his family either. She has more enemies just because she was born than I can count and I can count pretty damn high."

Hiashi shook his head still trying to absorb it all. Finally he said, "You know, when I brought you Hinata to keep safe I thought I was handing you the toughest problem you would ever have to handle. But now I can see she is a walk in the park compared to her friend." A few minutes of silence went by with the two men watching the orb on Sarutobi's desk. Mizuki and Iruka had just entered the classroom. Muttering Hiashi said, "Something is off with that white haired teacher."

"Hai. Our favorite two girls have seen it too and they have a plan to find out what his deal is. I don't know the whole plan but they'll let me know as soon as they figure him out."

"I don't envy you, my friend, having to shelter both these girls but what happens after the exams? I want Hinata to be safe."

"They will be placed on a team with the Uchiha Brat but I might as well tell you what Hinata told Natsu this morning about the boy." Sarutobi proceeded to tell Hiashi what he had learned and Hiashi agreed to check the kids eyes himself, snorting over the information about the boys other issues.

"I don't think we need to let the full council or indeed anyone else on the council know of these issues. Maybe we will get lucky and, as cruel as it sounds, the boy will die in combat before his so called potential can be realized."

"Hai. It does sound cruel but the life he'd be subjected to if this information gets out would be much worse I think. So maybe it would be for the best. Sometimes I think it would be for the best even if he did manage to activate his bloodline. The git is nowhere near the genius the council touts him as being and all it does is make him arrogant which will endanger everyone associated with him."

"Yeah well, the council wants him passed today regardless of how he actually does on the exam. They have already talked to Hatake and told him he will become the instructor for the Uchiha and that he will pass the team he is given regardless of whether or not they can actually perform as a team."

"Oh that must have made Kakashi delirious."

"You know that man is almost as good at hiding what he really thinks as any Hyuuga but he does it differently than we do. We strive for expressionless expressions while he goes to the other extreme. He shows you the opposite of what he thinks but it was clear he was anything but happy with the council for them daring to tell him how to treat young genin hopefuls."

"Well, he would be. He's been in the field enough to know giving a child an automatic pass is a recipe for getting them back as a pile of ash or a head in a scroll. He knows this request of the council will endanger not only the Uchiha but also the team he's placed on."

"I tried to tell the council the same thing but Danzo and his cronies said it would be up to Kakashi to keep the team in the village until such a time as the Uchiha activates his bloodline and learns to use it anyway. And since it has not activated yet then it obviously would do no good to keep the boy in the academy for another term. Better to put him on a team and have the only other person with the eye to teach him how to activate it. They think of it as a toy Sasuke simply doesn't know how to get out of the box it came in."

"Hm. I see trouble down the line for Kakashi then." Sarutobi chuckled. "In fact, he's about to get more trouble than I think he's ever known."

"Why's that?"

"I plan for Hinata and Natsu, as Naruto, to be on Sasuke's team. Hinata is just as high born as Sasuke which will force Kakashi not to ignore her and Naruto has gained a reputation as a prankster unrivaled in the history of this village. If he ignores Naruto, Kakashi will have a lot of very uncomfortable incidents to live through."

Hiashi smiled and then laughed. "Hai. The girls will make his life hell on earth if he tries to dance for the Uchiha only. But if I were you I would make it clear to Hatake that he needs to watch out for Natsu with the revelation of Sasuke's leanings. We do not want anything to happen that would have Natsu going primal on the team. Not that she would be alone in her actions if she did. I know my Hinata-hime well enough to know she would be right there with Natsu helping hold the Uchiha down for the punishment."

The two men fell silent as they watched the class of genin hopefuls take their exam. They saw that Sasuke barely answered a third of the questions on his written exam but the ball wasn't clear enough to show if his answers were correct or not. What both men knew was there weren't enough answers on that paper to give him a high ranking score.

Iruka collected the tests and handed them off to another to be graded after hiding the identification of each students name on the tests. This way the grading teacher would have no idea which test belonged to which student and would have to mark them fairly. The jutsu he used to hide the names on the tests was a new one of his own design and could not be broken by anyone else.

The students went out for the field exam. The field exam was a test of their stealth capabilities as well as their ability to lay a trap field to catch or evade an enemy. As Naruto was the well-known Prankster King of Konoha, he had to do outstandingly well in this test. It would do him no good to merely do as well as Sasuke did and no better. Both men were nearly hysterical watching the events of the testing unfold.

At first, the instructors had sent only one person after each student until it was Naruto's turn. Then the instructors had started a game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would be his guinea pig for the event. What was hilarious was no one wanted to do the job. Naruto and his classmates all stood there blinking as the instructors argued and the game of rock, paper, scissors degenerated into a brawl between those who had already lost. The only Sensei explicitly forbidden from being his tester for the event was Iruka and that was because he could always catch the mischief making blond. But what upset the other instructors wasn't that they knew they wouldn't catch the kid. It was the type of traps he was known to lay for those who pursued him. None of them wanted to be caught in his prank trap and all of them knew they would be.

Most of his classmates were laughing at the hysterics of their instructors and sitting on the grass as if this were the greatest show they'd ever seen. One of the students was eating while another was sleeping but most were glued to the show. Finally Iruka selected five of the brawlers to be Naruto's testers much to their dismay. They were practically in tears when they saw the grin on Naruto.

Naruto was given a five minute head start and that, both Sarutobi and Hiashi knew, was more than enough time. While Naruto was laying out his traps, those who had been selected to test him were quivering as they plotted how best to track the dynamo and bring him down with the least amount of humiliation to themselves in the process. Hinata looked towards the sky and made a few gestures that looked like nothing more than random twitches but she was actually telling Sarutobi to watch Naruto because Natsu had designed a new series of prank traps for this event. Sarutobi told Hiashi what Hinata had said and both men smirked as they turned their attention away from the students.

When the five minutes were up the instructors had to be coerced into entering the woods after the orange wearing genin. It was only a reminder of how many other traps they were giving the boy time to set that had them running in a panic stricken mob for the treeline. Though the instructors moved cautiously through the shadows of the trees they were all caught one by one in traps Naruto had cleverly hidden in plain sight.

One instructor had been caught in a honey trap of the traditional design. He was covered from head to toe in tree sap mixed with flower pollen and a hive of bees released in his vicinity. The bees did what came naturally and chased him out of the woods, stinging him the whole way. A second instructor came flying out of the woods a few minutes later screaming about being chased by ghosts and other unnatural spirits. Clearly he'd gotten caught in a genjutsu trap but what was astounding was the fact that the more he screamed the more chicken feathers he sprouted. Iruka, having a difficult time hiding his amusement, finally knocked the poor man out when he actually started sprouting a beak where his mouth and nose were and his arms began to resemble the short stubby wings of a chicken.

The third instructor was caught in a water trap that had him swimming in bright neon pink ink. The pond he thought he had to swim across was really only a small puddle no longer than the length and no wider than double the width of an adult Naruto had created using a water jutsu. It was no deeper than was needed to occasionally cause the water to splash over the back of the person laying in it as they went through the motions of swimming. Their genjutsu encumbered mind simply did not register the hits of their hands and feet against the earth. He'd stripped down to his boxers after putting his clothes into a storage scroll had proceeded to enter the "pond" But the ingeniousness of the trap was that the more he swam the farther he seemed to be from a shore. The poor man had doomed himself the second he'd stepped into the inky water.

The fourth instructor simply found herself pinned in the ground after having run a gauntlet of emotionally triggered traps. She'd wandered into his most traditional trap, a barrage of kunai flying from multiple directions while carefully herding her in a specific direction. From there she had fallen for a rope colored to resemble a specific type of snake and filled with enough chakra to seem to writhe as if launching itself at her. With her, unknown to Naruto, fear of snakes this had prompted her to run directly into his third trap which was a simple pit trap. As soon as she fell into the trap one hundred little balls had exploded and showered her with all different sorts of things. From skunk musk to paint to perfume the woman was a walking mess. Some of the balls had contained feathers and confetti which clung to wherever a wet spot was created but the other balls. Even parts of the balls themselves stuck to her since they were made from small strips of cloth or leather. Since she was crying hysterically the mess was even on her face but physically she was unharmed. The final part of that trap had released a number of kunai to pin her via her clothing to the earth of the pit trap. She was so upset she simply didn't have the mental ability to get herself free as a rope of roots wrapped around her waist and secured her in a standing position.

The final instructor was aware of the failing of his compatriots as each of their screams had let him know of their failing. Well, except for the guy swimming in the pink ink. He was still trying to reach a shore.

The final guy left chasing Naruto gulped and moved even more cautiously than he had been before trying his hardest not to get caught by the tricky boy. He really didn't give a damn any more about catching the Prankster King. He just wanted to survive until the test was called without getting caught himself. He already knew damn good and well this kid outstripped him by far when it came to traps and evasion. He wasn't too proud to admit a twelve year old could out prank him. Why did Iruka have to select him for this? He whimpered in fear knowing he wouldn't get out of this place without something going wrong. He almost sat down where he was and just gave up but he knew that would be as bad for his reputation as getting caught by the Prankster King. Actually, it would be worse since his comrades would be seen as having been braver than he was. So he kept moving onward. Finally everything had gone haywire for him. His ears couldn't hear anything anymore and he couldn't feel anything either for all that his skin felt hyper sensitive to him. He knew he had messed up and stumbled into a trap. The only one of his five senses that was still working was his eyesight. Quickly he brought his hands together in the universal sign to disperse a genjutsu only to trigger another trap. Five hundred orange clad clones poofed into being around his location. The poor man started trembling. How the hell had the boy managed to lay a trap that was triggered by someone trying to dispel a genjutsu? He just knew this wasn't the end of this. To his horror, he heard the words he dreaded and saw two hundred and fifty of the clones turn into naked women while the other two hundred and fifty turned into Greek gods of Lore and began to strip off their orange jumpsuits, growiing in size as they did so. The poor instructor was terrified and gibbering as all the now disrobed and sexy clones began cooing and calling for him to join them in their various acts of a naughty nature. Some of the male clones began to move towards the poor man who was now bleeding from his nose and eyes as well as his ears. The guy's eyes rolled up in his head as the first of the clones made contact with him and he slumped to the forest floor out for the count. The clones poofed out of existence and Naruto walked out of the woods two hundred yards away from where the guy lay unconscious. He hadn't even been in the area and that made Sarutobi wonder just how he had laid that last trap, while admitting that a few of those instructors were going to require therapy with Inoichi before they could go back to work again. Especially that last one as the clone that had made contact with him had been one of the male clones.

Iruka smirked at the blond and asked if they needed to go rescue anyone. Naruto nodded and told him about the guy who had fallen to the mixed harem orgy, causing Iruka to first blanch and then get very red in the face. Before Iruka could say anything he told him about the guy swimming in a puddle of bright pink ink and the woman trapped in a pit trap. He told him to plug his nose before rescuing her though since she stunk now. Iruka had just groaned and shook his head before admitting that Naruto was still the best in the field.

Other instructors were selected to rescue the trapped Sensei but wouldn't go until Naruto had assured them the traps had all been triggered now and they'd be safe. Though doubtful of the boys honesty in the matter, they had gamely trooped off to find their fellows only to be proven correct as more traps had been triggered on them as they attempted the rescues. Screams of NARUTO could be heard coming from the location of every one of the fallen instructors to which Naruto and, surprisingly to the other students, Hinata just snickered. The rescuer foiling traps, as Naruto deemed them, claimed another four victims before they were disarmed and the fallen Sensei were pulled from the forest.

The first one to make it out of the woods with his fellow had stormed over to Naruto intent on beating the crap out of him for lying. "You said there were no other traps, you little Shit," he bellowed.

"And you believed me. You're a chunnin shinobi. You should know better than to take anything at face value especially as I wasn't the only person being tested today but I do appreciate your help in testing my latest design."

"Latest design?" questioned Iruka.

"Hai. I thought it wasn't such a good idea to have traps that just catch an initial victim before being played out. So I have been working on traps that will catch anyone who comes to their rescue as well. The rescuer traps are multi layered and capable of catching the rescuer from any direction they approach the victim from. He just proved it works." Naruto smirked at Iruka while the other instructor glowered.

Another instructor shook her head and said, "If that boy doesn't pass today I think I'm gonna quit this job. I definitely don't want to have to go through this again next time."

"Hell even if he doesn't pass I might just make so that he does anyway. That kid is too much for us," cried another sensei.

Sarutobi and Hiashi were embarrassed but having the time of their life listening to the comments coming from the poor victims of his genius. Both Hiashi and Sarutobi knew there had never been, and more than likely never would be, anyone better when it came to traps and pranks than Natsu.

Needless to say Naruto took first place in the field testing. Hinata had come in third behind Chouji who had managed to evade capture even though his traps did not catch his pursuer. Her trap had caught the pursuer but she had still not been able to make it out of the field before the timer went off and so she had been considered caught.

Next was target practice and the watching men noticed both Hinata and Natsu narrowed their eyes at the chunnin who was setting up the targets. Mizuki was in charge of the targets for this test and he was determined to see Naruto fail the event. He set Naruto's target stands a good ten feet further down range from everyone else's and made his actual point scoring targets a good twenty five percent smaller than the other students. Both Naruto and Hinata decided that even if they didn't find out what this guy's issue was he was getting pranked tonight.

Luckily Mizuki wasn't the only instructor on the range calling out the score as each student threw their weapons so Naruto did get each point he earned and decent weapons to throw. Mizuki had tried to call a neck shot as a chin shot which was a non-scoring hit but one of the other instructors had loudly corrected him and called it as it was without looking to see who's shot it had been. That event though had upped the level of the prank the two girls would pull on the idiot instructor though and both Hiashi and Sarutobi were beginning to get nervous. They knew if Mizuki kept picking on Naruto, he was unlikely to survive the humiliation the girls would subject him to with his sanity intact.

Sarutobi said, "I'll give him credit for guts. He is deliberately pissing off the number one prankster in the village with a full working knowledge of just how Natsu gets even with those she feels wronged her."

"He's either very brave or very stupid," agreed Hiashi. "Not even I would attempt to sabotage her the way he is. Do you see the way some of the other Sensei are looking at him?"

"Hai. It's clear they want to know what he's doing as well. They keep looking from him to Naruto and I know damn good and well that's fear on their faces."

"Hai. I agree. They know Naruto will not let this slide." They watched as the scores from the weapons testing were compiled and the children were herded back inside for the results of their paper test. Iruka released the genjutsu he had placed over the tests allowing each students name to show on their paper. Naruto had done better than he had intended to do but he'd forgotten about his mission because the questions were so very simple to him. Hinata had done the same and both children flushed in embarrassment as they were listed first for their division on the paper exam.

Sasuke had failed to pass the written portion since his name had not been visible to the grader and his paper was incomplete. Of the questions he had bothered to answer, three of them were incorrect. It was those three incorrect answers that had led to his failure to pass the test. He was pissed beyond belief and had angrily demanded to know the meaning of the class dobe doing better than he had.

Iruka cooly informed him that if he were going to imitate the laziest student in the class and not complete his exams then how could he expect to finish first. The Uchiha spouted off about how he hadn't needed to waste his time answering stupid written questions in all the time he'd been attending this school before and what did Iruka mean by implying anything to the contrary now?

Three different sets of eyes narrowed at that and one set of them belonged to a pink haired girl who was usually to be found hanging on his every word. To her, the written word was not worthless or a waste of time and for her idol to say it was, was the equivalent of saying she herself was worthless since that was the area she normally shone brightest.

"I need to have my secretary remind me to go over every single written test that boy has ever taken," snarled Sarutobi. "I swear if they actually passed that kid off as knowing more than he really does, some heads are going to roll."

"I know they have. One of the Sensei in each year has been paid extra by Danzo to make sure the Uchiha does not fail important exams and since being the Rookie of the Year means so much to the Brat because it was Itachi's rank, the Sensei alters his papers to give him the highest scores in the class."

"And you said nothing of this before to me because. . ."

"I thought you knew. Otherwise I would have. Our line of work is dangerous enough without having ignorant children going out there."

Sarutobi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded slowly and reopened his eyes. "Next time tell me anyway whether you think I know or not. Sasuke may be a spoilt brat but he does not deserve this fate the council has set him up for."

Hiashi nodded and they watched as the kids were released for lunch. Sasuke tried to pick a fight with Naruto in the school yard but Naruto wasn't biting. "Hn. Dobe," Sasuke sneered as he slammed his shoulder into Naruto's side shoving the orange clad boy out of his way.

"I'm sorry you think so little of yourself after only the results of a single written test which even you must acknowledge you didn't even try to pass," was Naruto sad statement. "But you really don't need to call yourself a deadlast Sasuke. I'm sure your other results from the rest of the tests will pull you closer to the middle of the class."

Other children standing around snickered as the insult was neatly turned back on Sasuke. The Uchiha turned red in the face and went to charge Naruto in order to force the fight but Naruto calmly turned away without appearing to even notice him. Naruto took Hinata by the arm and led her off to the shade of their favorite eating spot. Slowly Shikamaru and Chouji fell into step behind the pair and Shino made his way to the tree with it's single swing as well. Sasuke was neatly blocked from continuing his unprovoked attack against Naruto by the wall of his friends. Kiba joined them as did Ino. The kids snickered at Sasuke's disappointing show in the rankings so far. Although Ino didn't really like how they were talking about the last Uchiha, she did feel he deserved to fail the written test since he hadn't even tried to pass it. Her interest in Sasuke was based on the belief that he was the best looking boy of her year and as, in her opinion she was the best looking of the girls, it was only right that the two of them should be an item. She didn't like his personality but in a popularity contest personalities took a back seat to image.

In Sarutobi's office, Hiashi and Sarutobi were discussing how much to tell Kakashi about the dynamics of his genin team. Just as the lunch bell rang calling all the kids back into the building for their final two exams, they agreed to discuss the matter with the girls before they said anything to Kakashi one way or the other.

A small mouse appeared in the office while the kids were slowly being called from the class for the final test. The mouse was Hinata's summon creature and she used it to get messages to the Hokage from both herself and Natsu whenever the girls could not personally come deliver the message.

The note was simple and short. _"Be ready to personally judge taijutsu match-up, Uchiha vs. Uzumaki. Uchiha to use ninjutsu. Uzumaki to fail if he retaliates. Mizuki plot. Natsu suspects traitor."_ Sarutobi showed it to Hiashi and both men nodded men knew when it came to traitors, Natsu was never wrong. If she said someone was a traitor then they were.

But what was more disturbing was the information that Sasuke would be allowed to use his fire based ninjutsu during an indoor taijutsu spar in a room full of spectators. Both men decided Hinata was correct to be concerned and left for the academy dojo after a brief stop to pick up Ibiki. Sarutobi showed Ibiki the note from Hinata and watched as a "working grin" crept over the scarred man's countenance.

The trio showed up in the dojo just in time to see Naruto enter from the ninjutsu testing room. Sasuke was waiting for him on the mat and the trio of men listened as Mizuki explained the rules. They knew he had already spoken to Sasuke letting the Uchiha boy know that the rules he gave to Naruto did not apply to himself. The other students who had already been tested were filling the stands that were in a semi-circle around the taijutsu mat. Naruto had given a quick nod when he noticed the three men and stepped into the ring. A barely perceptible nod had assured the pseudo-boy of the reason for their being there. Mizuki had yet to notice them as they were at the back of the room behind the set of bleachers the rest of the kids sat on.

Naruto fell into his opening stance and watched as Sasuke smirked. "Payback, Dobe," he sneered. He launched a quick attack intended to quickly send Naruto out of the ring from the flurry of his rapid kicks to the center of his gravity. The attack was so pitiful Naruto just sidestepped it and watched as the Uchiha propelled himself across the white line. Mizuki somehow managed not to see Sasuke's feet outside the ring causing the students who had seen it to growl as the Uchiha smirked and deliberately re-entered the ring. Once again he threw himself into an attack against Naruto. His right fist was sent towards Naruto's head while his left headed for a punch to the gut and Naruto parried both strikes by a simple bending of his torso but he made no strikes of his own, determined to give the Brat every chance to win the bout. Sasuke grew even more angry since that was his second attack that had failed to even make contact with the dobe.

He plowed into the space where Naruto had been only to take a nosedive into the mat just like he had in the schoolyard. As Sasuke picked himself up off the mat his anger was clear to be seen by everyone. He quickly flashed through the handsigns for his Katon jutsu and released a fireball towards his enemy. It was cancelled just as quickly by Sarutobi who simply appeared at the edge of the mat and waved a single hand towards the fireball. In a voice devoid of any warmth, the old man announced, "Uchiha Sasuke is disqualified from this event. He has not only stepped outside the ring," he pointed to Sasuke's feet which were clearly once again across the white line. "But he has used an illegal move as described when Naruto entered the room for his taijutsu test. This was to be a pure Taijutsu exam with no ninjutsu allowed. Furthermore, Uchiha Sasuke will be assessed an extra penalty for endangering the welfare of his fellow students with the use of the illegal move. He shall place out as the deadlast in this event for his mistaken belief that the rules do not apply to him."

Mizuki stared open mouthed as Sarutobi announced his decision. Never before had the Hokage interfered in a genin graduation exam to this extent but he was also afraid of what else the Hokage knew since he had no idea of how long the Hokage had actually been in the dojo. He recovered his composure as the last of his students came through the door for her taijutsu testing. Yamanaka Ino was paired against a girl who had tied with her sparring partner early that day and warned against using either ninjutsu or her family jutsu in the match lest she share Sasuke's punishment.

Sasuke was in shock. The Dobe had won by default because Sasuke was lied to. Mizuki had been told him he would gain extra points if he proved himself capable of using a higher level of ninjutsu than what he'd shown in the ninjutsu testing. But clearly Mizuki had lied. But now what was he supposed to do? He had failed to pass the written exam and now he was deadlast for the taijutsu as well. The trap and evasion stealth testing he had not only not managed to capture the Sensei sent to capture him but he'd been caught by the Sensei as well before he could leave the field. He would not admit that meant he had failed the exam even though the Iruka-Sensei had told him he had. Iruka was a fair instructor and he would not say a student passed something they did not in fact pass.

The only two tests he knew he had passed were the ninjutsu exam where he hadn't garnered any extra points for himself and the weapons test which he knew he had placed near the top of the exam. But were those two exams enough to get him passed? He wasn't sure. The students were told to return to their classroom until the scores from all five fields could be compiled and those who had passed could receive their headbands.

Sasuke walked back to the classroom ignoring the other students. Mizuki walked next to him and slipped a note into the sulky boy's pocket as he did so. He was sure no one saw him pass the note and though he knew Sasuke was arrogant and prideful he really didn't think the boy would be so obvious as to attempt to read the note in a classroom full of other kids. Yet he did so.

Ibiki had followed the Sandaime to where the Sensei were compiling the scores and figuring the class rankings. The Sensei were quite shocked at the poor showing of the Uchiha child, as they all saw him, but Iruka would not budge. He insisted those were truly the scores the boy had earned in the different events and regretfully he did not earn enough points to actually pass the exam. Those Sensei who had been paid by Danzo to see to it the Uchiha never failed at anything gulped nervously as now their negligence caught up with them. They knew Danzo did not take excuses but how could they have foreseen this type of event? Everyone had always loved the Uchiha and no one had been willing to hurt the boy even if the pain was a fleeting thing or indirect.

"But Iruka," exclaimed one of the bought and paid for teachers. "We can't fail him. It will crush his spirit if he doesn't pass. He's just had a bad day. We all know these tests are tests he has mastered and passed before throughout his time here as a student."

Several other teachers nodded their agreement thinking the man had come up with a very logical argument to get the Uchiha through the exam. But Iruka shook his head. "Iie. I will not give him a mark he has not earned. He is not going into a job where he's going to be sitting behind a desk. He is a ninja or trying to become one. If he can not pass these simple tests there is no way he can survive in the field. Besides which, it is not only his life you lay on the line each time he is allowed to take on a mission outside the village. You also risk the lives of his teammates and his jounin-sensei. That is unacceptable. He will stay for another term just as Mitarashi Mia and Ami will stay another term. You don't get a do-over in the field because you are having a bad day so no student should get one here either. This is real life. Not fantasy."

Sarutobi was proud of Iruka for standing his ground and he understood exactly why those other teachers were eager for the Uchiha to be passed. The paid off Sensei tried another tactic and the argument dragged on. Iruka stood firm. Finally Sarutobi nodded to Ibiki who signaled his team. Those teachers who'd argued with Iruka over Sasuke's standing where hauled out of the room and taken to interrogation to see just how far they had failed Sasuke and if there were any other students they had messed with while they were supposed to be fair and impartial.

Hiashi meanwhile had followed the kids back to their classroom. Hinata had greeted him with a quick shy smile totally in character with how her class saw her and he had used the Natsu/Hinata language to tell her how proud he was of her and Natsu both for keeping their cool as well as their covers. Both girls smirked briefly and stole a glance towards Sasuke. Their smirks turned to frowns immediately as they saw him reading something cupped in his hand. Both girls checked to be sure Hiashi had also made note of Sasuke's behavior and again he nodded to them.

Then Iruka came back into the classroom. At his heels were Mizuki and Sarutobi. While Mizuki took his place handing out the headbands to happy students, Sarutobi walked over to stand next to Hiashi near the door. Using the hidden language of the girls as best he could since he wasn't as proficient in it as they all were, Hiashi told Sarutobi about Sasuke's note and Sarutobi nodded to the girls telling them to follow the boy.

The whole class was surprised when Sasuke was not announced as having passed. Several just sat in their seats in open mouthed disbelief. To go from being the rookie of the year to not even passing the final exam was just too shocking for their minds to handle. Finally Ino stood up and yelled, "Iruka-Sensei. What about Sasuke-kun? You forgot to call his name."

"No I didn't, Ino. Sasuke did not pass. Maybe if he'd paid more attention to the rules and actually finished some of the tests then he would have but since he decided to play around, he did not pass." He waited for the outcry from the various members of the Uchiha fanclub to die down before he continued. "Now I am aware you will all be wondering who came out on top in both the male and female categories and who is the all around deadlast of the class. Well, as of today's five areas of testing it is my pleasure to announce that for the boys the Rookie of the Year title goes to Uzumaki Naruto who was unrivaled in three areas of the testing. For the girls the winner of Top Kunoichi goes to Hyuuga Hinata for being the top placer in three fields amongst the girls." The class applauded their new best of the class students, some still reeling from it not being their precious Sasuke-kun but others just as happy to see him dethroned.

"The all around Deadlast of the class is," Here he interrupted himself to turn red and throw an eraser that somehow magically appeared in his hand at a pineapple haired boy who was sleeping at his desk. "SHIKAMARU! Wake up this instant." The last of his shout died off just as the eraser impacted with the person sitting behind Shikamaru, who had somehow evaded the incoming eraser without even bothering to raise his head. This prompted another eraser to come flying in the lazy boy's direction as the students around Shikamaru scrambled to get out of range. Ten dirty erasers later a gentle snore came from the laziest boy in the class who's seat was now ringed in a white inch thick ring of chalk dust.

Hiashi leaned in toward Sarutobi to ask where all the erasers had come from. "I know for a fact there were only three on the ledge of the chalkboard itself and they are all still there as you can see."

Sarutobi shrugged and said, "That is a mystery no one has figured out yet. For some reason Iruka always seems to have some handy for throwing at sleeping children."

"Anyway," Iruka said with slumped shoulders and total disgust, "The Deadlast of the this years class is Rip Van Wrinkle over there." The children, most of whom had no idea who Rip Van Wrinkle was, still snickered knowing that Shikamaru was the deadlast. They also knew him well enough to know he was only the deadlast because he didn't care enough to bother showing off what he knew. In each test he'd done just enough to pass and not one thing extra.

"Those of you who passed, Congratulations. I will see you on Monday to hand out your team assignments and explain a little bit about your new duties as genin of the Leaf Village. Now, I believe your parents are waiting to escort you home. For those of you who did not pass, you have the following week off and I suggest you spend some time in study and practice."

The children filed out of the classroom, some of them showing signs of massive disappointment while others were practically jumping for joy. But for Uchiha Sasuke there was only shocked disbelief. He simply could not believe he had failed. He had always passed everything before. Sure, he knew his test papers were sometimes not the same ones he'd filled in when he'd been given the test but he hadn't really given it any thought after the Councilman had told him that he would receive a little bit of aid like that from time to time. He'd simply taken the false tests home and studied them waiting until the next time he was tested. Over the years he'd forgotten about that and had just stopped studying for written exams period knowing someone would see to it his written evaluations were always passed. This allowed him more time for studying and practicing his family style of combat. Since he had no one to teach him the style he had to learn it on his own from the scrolls his family had left behind and that took too much time to waste studying dry lesson books on useless information such as what he was tested on at the academy.

And it was true that he was not as good at the trap and evasion tests as Naruto was. Hell, no one in the village compared to Naruto in that field. Nor would anyone ever compare to the Prankster King. It took a lot of skill to earn a title like that and just the mention of someone turning the Prankster King loose on you was enough to bring most Jounin to their knees in horror and tears.

He'd heard rumors of how even Anbu were known to make themselves scarce when a call came in to apprehend the Prankster King. According to the rumors they used to call in a sick call, what ever that was, until the Anbu Commander had caught on and told them to find The Prankster first then go get cleared for duty. What Sasuke didn't know was that Anbu had worked in Prankster chases as part of their way of initiating newbies into their ranks and as part of the punishment routine. Heck the Commander had even been known to call on Naruto to prank a new recruit for him.

But for Sasuke the only thing he was interested in was that he knew Naruto was going to win that event hands down. So he hadn't even bothered trying to get good at it. What was the use of wasting time practicing skills you knew someone else would always outshine your own efforts in? Especially since he thought Naruto and his pranks were not only juvenile but also useless to a real ninja.

His field of interest had always been his family style of combat and he truly was good at the Uchiha taijutsu ninjutsu combination. He had truly thought Mizuki had told the truth when he'd said Sasuke would be allowed to use the full range of his family style. But the Sensei had lied. And that led to the final issue on his mind. Could he trust the man now?

Mizuki had slipped Sasuke a note telling him there was another test he would be allowed to partake in since the Hokage hadn't known of the special conditions set for Sasuke's taijutsu spar. It sounded reasonable, given everything else the council had done for him over his years at the academy but still why hadn't the Hokage known about the other special condition?

Mizuki met him at the gate of his compound and explained the special test was to steal a specific scroll from a hidden and heavily trapped room in the Hokage tower. If he could steal the scroll without setting off an alarm and then make his way into the woods and to an old abandoned shack, he would pass the test and be allowed to graduate with the rest of his class. He was not allowed to open the scroll but this test was designed to show that he did have the necessary skills to infiltrate and evade guards while stealing something important from an enemy.

He would also have to show his ability to read a map and follow instructions which is what would make up for his having failed to pass the written examination. The fact that he was not allowed to open the scroll was a test of his loyalty to his village and would restore the honor he had supposedly lost by using ninjutsu in a taijutsu fight. Mizuki told Sasuke that when he arrived at the shack he would be met by Danzo and himself. Danzo would be representing the council and there to make sure Sasuke had followed the rules so the council could overrule the Hokage and see to it that his accumulated points for this extra exam were applied to his overall final grade. Mizuki would be there representing the school to make sure said points were added to the overall grade allowing Sasuke to actually pass.

Sasuke grunted his agreement. It made sense. Of course, he would be given a second chance to prove himself. He wasn't a deadlast loser of a nobody. He was an Uchiha and they were always given the best of chances. Entering his family compound he made himself a pita and tomato sandwich while he waited for darkness to fall. He had no doubt in his own ability. He would succeed in this because he was sure it would not be as difficult as it sounded. He was an academy student. Not a real thief. Therefore, he was sure the traps wouldn't be that hard to evade. Nor would the guards really try to catch him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: I know this is just a short chapter but I hope you enjoy it. Remember feedback gets you more to read. As Always I don't own Narutoverse though I really think Kiskimoto ought to just give it to me. I think I have as much fun with it as he does.**

A Different Reality

Chapter Two

What Little Girls Can do

Later that night after the moon had risen Sasuke was on his way to the tower to perform in his final exam, Natsu and Hinata were putting the finishing touches on the trap they had designed for the traitorous Mizuki. Though they had no real proof as yet that he was indeed a traitor, Natsu felt in her bones the man was not to be trusted. Always before that had proven to be all the evidence she needed to identify a traitor.

They headed in tangent for the tower to report their successful pranks to the Sandaime and receive an update as to the next step in their on going mission of protecting the foolish boy known as the Uchiha child. They were almost there when they saw the very target they were to keep watch on trying to be stealthy as he broke into the tower. Snickering lightly at his clumsiness, they decided to trail him and see what he was up to. In his hands they could see he held a piece of paper. Natsu signaled Hinata to keep track of him while she reported to the Hokage about this. Hinata gave her the go ahead and Natsu poofed into Sarutobi's office where he was just finishing a stack of files he'd neglected in order to watch his adopted granddaughters graduate from the academy.

"Natsu! Congratulations. What brings you by tonight?"

"Teme is in the building. He's up to something and it must be about that note we saw him reading after all the testing today. Hinata is following him now so we can learn what he's doing but I think we should both make ourselves scarce and then follow. Maybe we'll catch us a traitor tonight."

Sarutobi nodded and took her hand as she phased them both into a slightly different dimension just outside their own. In this little pocket dimension one could still see, hear and even smell things from their own dimension. One could even interact to an extent in their own dimension. However, Sarutobi was anything but comfortable in this pocket dimension as no one else he knew could travel like this. Natsu was certainly an unpredictable young ninja. A few minutes later Sasuke peeked his head into the outer lobby of his office. He was a little worse for wear but nothing seriously disturbing. Natsu could see an angry Hinata trailing along behind him. She was close enough to his tail for him to have noticed her presence if he'd had half the real skill he'd bragged of possessing. Her expression showed just exactly how ticked off the young heiress was and it wasn't looking very good for the continued well-being of the Uchiha Survivor if he continued to piss her off.

So far Hinata had followed behind Sasuke as he had made his way through the tower. It was good the brat wasn't being considered for any kind of stealth team. His idea of stealth was about the most obnoxious and clumsy thing she'd ever seen. The damn Brat actually wore his clan insignia on the mission. As if that weren't bad enough he was definitely wearing cologne. What kind of perverted twelve year old was this kid anyway? Twelve year olds do NOT need to wear cologne for Kami Sake.

She smiled as Natsu and Sarutobi made their way carefully around Sasuke and let her know they were there. Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her into the pocket dimension as well. In here they could talk freely since Natsu controlled the dimension through her own will.

"So what is happening?"

"He seems to think he is dong an extra credit test. From his mumbling I gather, he is to utilize stealth by sneaking past all the guards here and into the secret scroll room. Once there he is to show some kind of trap mastery, which really has him sweating since he doesn't seem to know much about traps at all, as we both know. Past that I'm not too sure but I think he's to find a specific scroll and then follow the directions on that paper he's carrying."

"Ok. Hokage-sama I don't think Sasuke is really the one we are after here but what are your orders for us?"

Sarutobi frowned in deep thought. He knew the Uchiha wasn't deliberately betraying the village just as well as the girls did and had a sneaky suspicion as to who was really behind this theft attempt. He told them, "Follow him. Clear his path so he actually makes it back outside with his scroll. Find out who put him up to this and bust their butt. I'll make sure Ibiki is expecting company tonight. Again."

"Hai, Hokage-Jijii," answered both girls smirking widely. Hinata, still with an uncharacteristic smirk, asked, "Does he have to remain unruffled or can I beat on him some for his lousy skill set in this mission?"

Sarutobi chuckled as he nodded and said, "Just not too much damage please."

Both girls snickered and pretended to pout as they agreed to do no more than ruffle his feathers some. Then they set Sarutobi down outside of the interrogation department where he went to tell Ibiki of tonight's happenings.

Natsu and Hinata rushed back to where they had left Sasuke and Natsu sighed. Already the Brat had set off one of the silent alarms on the room. To Hinata she said, "Damn. He really sucks at this. Ok I'm gonna let you go. You hurry and clear the halls for us and I'll get him through the traps. Somehow."

"Well, those traps are some of your best work you know. None of us are you after all."

"True but you'd better get going now or we're gonna get a lot of company." She set her down in the outer office of the Hokage and watched as Sasuke narrowly missed setting off another of her traps. Luckily he wasn't going for the Forbidden Scroll of Secret Leaf Village Techniques. That was the most trapped scroll in the room and Natsu had her doubts as to whether even she could manage to disarm them all without setting off a few and as Hinata had said. They were her traps laid out along her plan. Swiftly she set about disarming all the other traps that led to a clear way out of the room from the scroll Sasuke was currently tucking into his little kunai case. She didn't look up in time to see which scroll he had taken but why anyone would go through this much trouble for a scroll that wasn't the Forbidden Scroll was beyond her imagination. She concluded that Sasuke, being the idiot he sometimes was, had taken the wrong one. But then again, maybe that was his intention. Even he had to be realizing by now that he'd been set-up. So maybe he'd grabbed a scroll that looked less important than any of the others and figured to just capture the person who'd tricked him in the first place. Maybe but Sasuke wasn't totally stupid. He was arrogant but he wasn't stupid.

She watched as he made his way out of the room. If this had been an academy approved exam and supervised by the academy Sensei than he might have done well in his marks. But this was the real world. Sort of. And halfway efforts didn't make it in the real world. She knew if they'd really been enemies he'd have been dead before he ever made it out of the Hokage's office. She sighed and shook her head as she followed his less than covered trail out of the building. Hinata had done a good job clearing the way for them and no guards were seen as they made their way outside. Natsu cast a quick release spell as she stepped beyond the tower still safe inside her pocket dimension. The Kai released those who'd been placed under a genjutsu to believe they were needed elsewhere. All the guards made their way back to their assigned positions and the Anbu finally began to assemble in response to the silent alarm Sasuke had tripped upon entering the Hokage's office.

Ok now to see where the stuck-up brat thought he was going. Half an hour later Natsu was inside her pocket dimension with Hinata and they were laughing their butts off. The trap they had laid earlier that evening, to catch Mizuki and pay him back for his attempts at interfering in the day's exams, had been triggered by Sasuke. He now stood in dumb-founded shock outside Mizuki's apartment covered in peanut oil and sesame seeds. Other types of seeds popular with the local birds were mixed in and a false sunrise lit the area. Small morning birds, who had nested for the night in the general area, woke up at the false dawn and seeing the tall figure covered in seeds converged on the blinking Uchiha. They roosted everywhere they could on his person and began to chirp and peck about for the choicest of the seeds on their newest feeder. Only his shock held Sasuke still as the birds gathered their bounty from him before flying off to their nest. The birds made a second trip before Sasuke snapped out of his shock enough to realize he was a human bird feeder and he tore off for the Uchiha compound to wash away the evidence of the prank played on him by the Sensei from the academy. Hinata sent another mouse to the Hokage to tell him what had occurred and ask for further instructions. The mouse came back a few minutes later saying for one of them to take a careful look around for any tell-tale evidence and the other to continue to follow the Uchiha. Hinata opted to follow Sasuke since she still wanted to beat on him for his poor stealth skills.

Natsu released her from the dimension and went into Mizuki's apartment. She found the place was empty of anything of a personal nature. Even the refrigerator was almost empty. No eggs, milk or cheese or any other kind of perishable food. She checked every room of the apartment just in case he needed to do some shopping but by the time she got to the bathroom it was clear to her he wasn't planning on returning to this apartment. She sent one of her young foxes to Sarutobi and gave him the information as she searched the grounds outside the apartment. As she was searching she came across the paper that Sasuke had been carrying all night as well as the scroll he'd taken. She just about laughed herself silly when she realized just how far behind Sasuke was in anything that didn't have to do with ninjutsu or taijutsu. Still laughing she teleported immediately to the Hokage's office and handed both items to the old man. She was laughing too much to explain as he looked from one to the other.

"Well, I guess I could give him some points for getting a Forbidden scroll, but Natsu this really isn't a time for you to be laughing hysterically now is it?"

"I know but it's just too funny. He stole the wrong scroll and went the wrong way when he left here. He came out of the tower the right way but when he was supposed to turn right he turned left." She giggled helplessly for a few more minutes. "He triggered my trap because when he got to the last of the directions on the map he was standing right on the trigger." She giggled some more before finally getting a hold of herself. As she did so she began to notice the other jounin in the office, who were also snickering at the silly Uchiha, and pulled herself into a more formal posture. "I did investigate Mizuki's apartment even though Sasuke never went inside. I'm not sure where he plans to go but it's clear he has no intention of returning to his apartment tonight. I think he's waiting for Sasuke to show at the location that map really leads to. I hate to say it Hokage-sama but from this nights adventures it's clear to me Sasuke is not ready to graduate yet. He can't read a map or even bother to fully read his instructions when he has them in his hand. He can't skillfully perform basic stealth, which makes him a hazard to any team he's placed in. Nor can he properly identify traps and his skill at disarming them, a first year academy student could do better." Her scorn of his trap related skills came through loud and clear.

A couple of the jounin in the room snickered and said, "Of course, skill with traps would determine for you who should graduate and who shouldn't."

"Hey I'm not basing it just on his lousy ability to see a trap before he steps on the damn thing. He's the one who's a human bird feeder at the moment." She crossed her arms and pouted at the jounins who were now laughing at her.

"Ok Natsu follow the map and lead the others to find our traitor since I assume your partner is still keeping track of our wayward wannabe ninja?"

"Hai, she is." She took back the map and poofed to a location outside the tower and then when all the jounin showed up leapt into the trees and followed the map to the shack in the woods. There they found Mizuki frantically pacing back and forth.

"Hey. Good thing you guys showed up tonight. There's been a theft at the Hokage tower. It seems one of the students, upset over not passing today, has stolen the Forbidden scroll of Secrets. I came out here in hopes of catching him but so far he hasn't shown and I'm not so sure I can catch him or even find him by myself. Maybe you guys can spread out and help me look for him before he does something else stupid?"

"Oh. Sure Mizuki-Sensei. We could do that," said Natsu. "Except there's one little problem with your plan. Uchiha Sasuke is safely tucked inside his compound tonight. He's not out here running around trying to avoid being caught by us or anyone else. Now What I want to know is, just how did you know there was a theft at the tower?"

"Um. . . there was a message hawk that flew over. Um yeah that's how I knew."

"You're a chunnin, Mizuki-Sensei," Natsu said in a tone of disgust. "Hawks don't fly for chunnin. Gees. You're as stupid as he was."

The other jounin who had followed Natsu had circled the not so capable man just in case he tried to run. In the blink of an eye, the girl was armed and flying towards Mizuki who had slipped into his taijutsu kata. Natsu, not being the normal size of a regular opponent for him, neatly slipped under his guard and sliced the fold of flesh connecting his thumb to the rest of his hand. On both hands at the same time. She'd just effectively ended his ability to do jutsu but just to make sure she passed her knives quickly over his hands once more cutting between the middle and third finger on each hand. Blood quickly poured from the cuts leaving a puddle on the ground as Mizuki lost the ability to moved his fingers effectively. The hand slices were deep enough to slice to where all the finger bones joined together without actually cutting anything vital. His hands were now in two separate pieces and bleeding heavily. He went to kick out at her, figuring to get away, and all the jounins flinched as she grinned and waved her knives again. She danced around the chunnin, her knives spraying blood into the air as she moved. By the time she was done, Mizuki was a puddle on the ground. She'd sliced the tendons in his ankles and the back of both knees as well. Then she'd just had some overall fun, nicking him where ever she'd felt like making him bleed. He now had six little whisker marks on his cheeks just like the Uzumaki Boy as well as the disabling injuries.

"Ah now please don't tell me the big, mean, tough academy instructor who likes to shoot his mouth off in the bars late at night is all done already. I was just starting to have fun. Come on, you wimp. Stand up and fight me." She stomped her foot childishly making Kakashi want to giggle.

He walked out of the trees where he had been waiting for her to finish the fight. 'Um Natsu? I don't think he can stand any more. You cut his tendons, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I did, didn't I. Ok then Mizuki. I guess it's time for you to go see Ibiki and me to go to bed. It's wayyyy past my bedtime you know." She yawned and began to skip away from the area.

"Natsu, hold up," called Kakashi. "No beddie bye for you just yet. You need to report his capture to Hokage-sama.

She turned around and turned the full power of her twelve year old pout on the one eyed jounin. "Ah. But I'm tired."

"No whining. You know the rules. You do the capture, you report it."

The pout turned into a smirk. "I do. That's why it's your hands on him now and not mine. I never touched him but you have." She smirked pointing to where he had wrapped his hand around Mizuki's upper arm to haul him to his feet. "You are doing the capture of the traitor so you report it." He looked in shock at his hand holding Mizuki up and dropped the man as he turned back towards Natsu. She ran before he could catch her and he chased her through the woods, much to the disgust of Mizuki and the amusement of the other jounins.

But eventually they both came back to the clearing and she turned serious again. "Ok Mizuki. This time you really are going to pay Ibiki a little visit. Let's go." She grabbed his arm and teleported them both into the interrogation department where Mizuki bled all over the floor while she filled out the paperwork to sign him into Ibiki's care. She took her time and pretended to have a hard time with some of the questions and some of the words she needed to spell. She was a twelve year old girl after all and all Mizuki could do was grit his teeth and bear with it. He was leaning against the wall in an upright position. His pain was beyond imagining since she'd cut the tendons in both his ankles and both his knees as well as done a number on his hands which were all still bleeding. The little sadist had refused to let him sit on the couch because then she'd have to clean up his blood as well as disinfect it so no one else would be tainted by sitting where a traitor had sat.

Behind a glass Ibiki was watching her antics and smirking. To his assistant, he smirked and said, "Breaking him is going to be too easy. She's getting him all riled up already for me. Look at how tense his jaw is. He's ready to strangle her and, though she is acting as if she's unaware of just how upset he is, she is very aware of it."

"She's good. She's a natural at this." Anko laughed as Mizuki tried to lunge for her unprotected back just as she turned around and hit in him the nose with the clipboard that held the forms she was filling out.

"Kuso. That's a whole nother form I need to fill out. What'd you have to go and fall on me for anyway? Now we'll never get done if you keep that crap up." The clipboard had impacted his nose at just the right angle and strength to break it and Mizuki was whimpering in pain. "Now quit being a baby and just tilt you head back until I get done with these forms. You don't get a medic until I do so behave." She looked over the forms on the clipboard and asked the receptionist for an injury turning over inmate form 35b-76c-teme. The receptionist, not quite as used to Natsu as Ibiki, still managed to conceal her grin as she disappeared into a back room to supposedly get the proper form.

Ibiki came out to find her laughing herself silly and handed her a thick form in triplicate. "You might want to tell her to hurry before he expires of blood loss though."

"Hai but that was so funny."

"That's Natsu for you. She's one of a kind."

The receptionist composed herself and went back out to the desk where Mizuki was glaring daggers into Natsu as she leaned against the counter and tapped the end of her pen on the surface. She was singing a nursery rhyme, off key and missing a lot of the proper words but she filled them in with words that insinuated things Mizuki didn't even want to think about a twelve year old girl knowing about. He might be a traitor to the Leaf but even he thought there were just some things a child didn't need to know about. She forgot a couple of lines and stopped her singing to think abou them just as the receptionist handed her the new form. Written across the top was Ibiki's message. She grinned at the mirror against the far wall and gave a negative shake indicating he was fine for now. In her own language, she told Ibiki the cuts were shallow. Like Hiashi, Ibiki didn't know a lot of the code she, Hinata and the Hokage had made up but he knew enough to get that message.

She waved the form around and said, "See Teme-Traitor? I told you she'd be quick about it. Now I just need to fill it allllll out. Shouldn't take more than," She flipped through the form as if it was really in need of being filled out. "Oh a couple of hours for each copy. Good thing there's only three copies. Too bad I can't just use a copying jutsu on them. Oh well. Just be a good boy and I won't have to fill out any more of them." She began to sing again, this time tapping her pen against her teeth while she kept the beat of another song on the floor with the toe of one shoe.

In the backroom, Anko was laughing her head off. "Damn. That Gaki is better than I was at her age. She's wonderful at this. Have you requested her for this department yet?"

"Hai. That was the one and _only_ time I have ever and _will_ ever piss off the Hokage. I was told, in a very frosty voice, that if I even thought of recruiting her I could find my balls in a refrigerator on the bottom of the deepest lake in the center of Iwa territory. Then, if I still insisted, I could go looking for what was left of myself in the deepest volcano pit in the known world because that's where he would send my precious as yet unborn babies."

Anko was totally shocked for about five minutes before she fully computed what Ibiki had said. Then she pointed at Ibiki and began to shake, though whether it was in laughter or fear, Ibiki couldn't have said. "He meant every word he told me, Anko. That girl is very special to him and I pity the fool who ever hurts her or her partner. What he will do to them will be far worse than anything either of us could ever do."

"Well, damn. I wonder what they did to get so close to him?" she said in a tone of wonder.

Ibiki shrugged. "They both call him Jijii and have ever since I met them. I would say that he has pretty much raised both of them from the time they were born or damn close to it though they do not live with him and his family. I do know he has looked out for Natsu all her life but I'm not sure when her partner joined her." Ibiki finished speaking and judged Mizuki was ready to crack from the torture of being in the forced company of an immature twelve year old girl with a very dirty potty mouth who couldn't possibly know the true meaning of half the things she said and sang let alone the things that were implied by the way those words were combined. Even the receptionist had paled a couple of times until Natsu indicated she should just plug her ears.

Finally, with Mizuki firmly under Ibiki's control Mizuki began to relax until Ibiki called over his shoulder, "Oh, Natsu Dear, you'll need to witness some other forms for me that I did not mistreat this prisoner either on his way to or from questioning. So you should be sure to come along with us now and then be sure to report back tomorrow for his first appointment with me. I may need your help after all."

"Ok, Ibiki. Of course, I'll come help you tuck him in all nice and tight. Just like his dear sweet Momma would have." She skipped up to the duo just as Mizuki began screaming. She pouted and plugged her ears as she lashed out with her foot and kicked him in the shin. "Ah man. Now I have to fill out another form. Will you just shut up and behave? I hate paperwork."

Mizuki whimpered as he looked at the tiny girl. He'd never been as afraid of anyone as he was this one little tiny bit of a girl. When she'd kicked his shin it felt as if she'd hit it with an iron bar instead of a soft toed shoe that he knew it was. Of course, she was wearing weighted shoes but he'd figure that out later. If he lived long enough. She did exactly what she said she would and even stayed outside his cell to sing him one more bawdy nursery rhymes as a lullaby, much to the embarrassment of the other prisoners in the holding cells. All the Sensei who'd been picked up at the academy that day were now spending the night in holding until Ibiki finished debriefing them. They were all amused by her little nursery rhyme until they figured out she couldn't be more than ten or eleven. Then they were deeply embarrassed.

By the time she finally left his cell area, Mizuki would be happy if he never, ever had to see her again. Ibiki finally had the perfect threat to use against the man and he knew it just from the grin on Natsu's face even if he hadn't watched the man crumbling through out the long drawn out procedure of his sign in.

When she left the interrogation department, she yawned and blinked sleepily. She was very tired but she knew there were still things that needed to be settled before she could go to bed. Like whether or not they were going to push the Uchiha scion through or if she and Hinata would be returning under a different disguise. She hated that idea but probably not as much as Hinata did.

She skipped her way into Sarutobi's office. Skipping was something she only did when she was truly exhausted and Sarutobi knew it. He was tempted to send her home for sleep but he knew he could not treat her any differently than he did any of his other nins.

"Ok Natsu let's get this wrapped up so you can get some sleep before you have to report back to the classroom," he said. Hinata was sitting on the couch taking a cat nap since she had not been required to accompany Natsu to interrogation.

We have to go to class on a saturday? she thought. "Oi, Hinata. Wake up. We got to discuss the little teme now," shouted Natsu.

Hinata woke up blinking and sighed before pushing herself upright to go stand beside Natsu. "I was having such a nice dream too. Oh well. Did you get Mizuki or do we still need to prank his ass?"

"Oh I got him. He won't be going anywhere under his own power for a long time. A very long time." Natsu's voice lost the childish edge and had turned into the voice of a deadly assassin, which she could be if needed. "Not to mention he now has a very healthy fear of little girls." She snickered as she described what she had done to him since the last time she'd stood in front of the Hokage. By the time she was finished, Sarutobi was pale and Hinata was laughing along with her. Sarutobi kept his thoughts to himself as he decided there was noone better at torture than a child. Only children had the actual imagination to totally disarm a person and turn sweet innocent things into the worst possible thing imaginable. What made it impossible was the fact that the adult mind just would not want to believe any child, no matter their background, could actually know just exactly what they were saying. And when the child saying it looked like an innocent little angel that only made it worse. But Sarutobi knew these two girls actually did know in the mental way just what the words Natsu had used against Mizuki meant. They might not know physically what it all meant but they did have a full working mental knowledge of them. Yes, he concluded. Ibiki would have an easy time breaking Mizuki and probably the other teachers as well if she'd really sang Mizuki to sleep in the hallways as she said she'd done.

"Ok, that takes care of the real traitors but now what about the Uchiha Git? We can send him back to the academy for another year but that means you two go back as well and since you're both known as the heads of this years class that might not be the best plan. You'd have to use new henges and I'd have to create a cover story as to why you aren't in class later this morning."

Both girls paled at the thought of having to go back again. "Anything but that," screamed Natsu, too tired to fully think things through, as Hinata said, "Jijii this is Saturday. Why do we have to go to the academy on a Saturday?"

"Oh, I was thinking ahead. Sorry but I am so glad you said that, Natsu," smirked Sarutobi, causing Natsu to shiver and back away from his desk.

"Oi! Jijii, be nice," she said. "It's been a long day but I still have the energy for another prank you know," she threatened.

He smiled. "Oh I was just gonna say our second option is to pass the Brat and put you two on his team. Of course, it goes without saying he'll have to have remedial teaching to bring him up to speed but I'm sure you two plus his new Sensei will be able to handle that."

Natsu and Hinata groaned. "With his attitude? Do you know how hard that is gonna be, Jijii?" asked Hinata.

"Wait. Do we even know why he did this? I mean, we're assuming he wasn't going to run off with Teme-Traitor but do we really know what he planned to do?" Everyone blinked. "I mean, we assumed he wasn't aware of Mizuki's true intentions but assuming things usually comes back to bite you in the butt down the road. I do know that if he merely thought he was taking a make-up test, he failed it big time, since he stole the Forbidden Scroll of Leaf Village Secret Suicide Techniques instead of the Forbidden Scroll of Leaf Village Secret Techniques. Not to mention that if not for Hinata he would have been caught more than once since his stealth sucks rotten eggs and if not for me he'd have set off more traps than he disarmed. But I do know Sasuke isn't stupid. He's smart enough to learn his family style of combat without any family, or anybody else, for that matter, to teach it to him. That means he might have figured out exactly what Mizuki was up to. At the very least, he's got to know he failed this little exam as well."

"True. But I doubt he was planning to betray us," said Sarutobi. "What reason would he have?"

"Pride," answered Natsu grimly. "Sasuke is proud beyond belief. He's proud of being an Uchiha. He's even proud that he has that damn fanclub following him everywhere he goes and falling all over themselves to tell him how great he is. He's always been proud of the title he got in class, whether he deserved it or not. In fact, he felt he deserved it simply because he was born Uchiha. The council has drilled it into his head that, as an Uchiha, he deserves every good thing he gets. His pride, due to their pampering, has grown over the years to the point where the events of yesterday would be a severe blow."

"She's right, Jijii. He might very well have decided to go with the Teme-Traitor just because he lost a lot today by failing the exam," agreed Hinata. "For him, he might see it as he can't face his peers anymore since not only is he not the Rookie of the Year but he didn't even pass. So he can't even claim the title of Deadlast. For someone like Sasuke. . ." she let that hover in the air for a few minutes. Then she added, "Besides I don't like the idea of Natsu having to remain in the Naruto transformation all the time. Sasuke looks at Naruto as a piece of meat he needs to have for dinner."

Sarutobi growled. "Your Jounin-Sensei will be told to watch for that situation and if it ever occurs to beat the living shit out of the boy. He's not good enough for either of you. Is that clear?" He fixed the girls with a steely eye that told them he was serious and this had absolutely nothing to do with Sasuke. This was the head of their very original family telling them a simple truth. Natsu and Hinata shared a look before gulping and nodding.

"Um. . .not that I would have a Teme like that anyway, Jijii, but I have to agree with Hinata. I don't want to continue being a boy all the time. It's not as much fun as being a girl is. Boys are boring," Natsu pouted.

"Hmm. I'll think about it, Natsu, but you are a lot safer as Naruto than you will be as Natsu and that carries a lot of weight for me."

"Jijii! You're going to be putting us on a genin team that won't ever leave the village proper, if I know that Council, because of their precious brat. How much danger could there possibly be? Besides, if I know you, you'll give us the absolute best jounin as a Sensei available. Are you saying I am in so much danger even the best the Leaf has to offer is not enough to keep me safe?"

"She has a point," murmured Hinata. Her shoulders were shaking in silent laughter at Natsu's outrage and disgust that she, even with all her skills, was still not considered by their honorary grandfather as being able to protect herself.

Sarutobi, they both knew, would not be swayed when it came to issues of their safety. But even he knew she had a point. He had trained the girls for years to make sure they were the equal of any enemy they might have to defeat in order to remain free and alive. For Hinata that meant her clan,due to the unique condition of her eyes not being the same as the rest of the clan, but for Natsu the list was much longer. Of course neither girl knew just how long that list actually was because he had neglected, deliberately, to tell them exactly who Natsu was. For now, he answered by repeating, "I'll think about it."

An anbu answered his summons and he sent the man to gather the Uchiha and bring him here for an interrogation and then get Ibiki as well so the man could witness the interrogation as well just in case they would need to lock up another of the Leaf's upstanding citizens.

A few seconds later Ibiki knocked tiredly on the door and was bade to enter. He moved to a position behind Sarutobi's desk where he would be in the shadows and unseen by whoever was going to sit in the hotseat, as he called it. "Natsu," he said. "I know you have to report to the academy for team assignments on Monday but when can you show up in interrogations so we can get some info from that Teme you brought and broke for us?"

"After I get some sleep. I really need some sleep," she was mumbling and swaying on her feet as she looked longingly at the couch.

"Not yet Natsu," said Sarutobi.

"Ah man. . ."

Just then the Anbu returned with a disgruntled Sasuke. Not only was he only half awake, bruised and battered from the beat down Hinata had subjected him to, but there was still bird seeds stuck in his hair. He was also grumpy from having been awoken from a sound sleep to attend the Hokage who he felt really should have given him the courtesy of waiting until a decent hour before calling for someone of his stature. Before he could notice them the two girls also slid into the shadows to watch the proceedings. They knew Sarutobi would go easy on the boy unless he did something to tick off the elderly man. But they did hope this would not be a long session as they were both tired and wanting to go home.

"Alright Sasuke. I know you're tired and really want to just go back to sleep but there are some questions that just can't wait until morning. So are you awake enough or do you need a beverage to help you wake up?"

"I'm awake but what's the meaning of calling on me at this hour of the night? Nothing is so important it couldn't wait until a decent hour. Not even me making a report about getting beat on by a recent graduate of the academy," he finished in a mumbled, trying to discreetly rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Sasuke, I am going to forgive you for that rudeness since you are obviously not at your best right now but do not speak to me in that tone again. I decide when to call on the people of the Leaf and for what reasons. Though I am usually nice enough to receive unexpected visits do not ever think anyone else can dictate when I see one of my villagers." Sasuke scowled but didn't reply. "Now. I know you received a note from Mizuki-Sensei early today after that debacle of a taijutsu match. I would like to know what it said."

"Why? It has nothing to do with you."

"Excuse me?" Ice cold steel lay in the simple two words he uttered.

"It's between Mizuki-Sensei, Myself and the Council."

"Oh really. That is indeed an interesting turn of events. And just how does a note handed to an academy student by one of his teachers involve the council?"

"I am not required to tell you. I answer to the council." Sasuke stuck his chin in the air and crossed his arms over his chest. His posture showed he was sorely tempted to get up and leave the office at the moment.

Sarutobi frowned at the boy for a full minute before he decided it was time to knock some arrogance out of the Brat before he turned Ibiki loose on him. His posture told the interrogation watchers this was the last chace Sasuke would be receiving. "Sasuke I want you to think this through very carefully. Now tell me what is the purpose of the academy in this village and how does it compare to the village school?"

"The academy is a place where certain children of the village, usually those who are from a ninja related clan or village orphans, are trained to pursue a career in protecting the village from those who might seek to destroy it. Whereas the village school is for civilians and only teaches the basics needed by civilians to maintain a lifestyle as those who serve us and our needs," he answered smugly. He seemed to think he was getting another opportunity to show he was smart enough to be a ninja, since he knew he had failed Mizuki's second test as well. They had not met up though he'd stayed at the location he was given as long as he could stand the damn birds pecking at him. That simple fact had told him he failed.

"Ok that was a good well thought out answer. Here's your next question. Which of the two schools does it make more sense for the Council to be in charge of and why?"

Sasuke frowned in thought, trying to recall if that had ever been in any of the lessons he'd been given. He simply didn't know. "Logically, it makes sense that they are in charge of both schools but from the way you phrased the question I gather they are only in charge of one."

"That is correct. They are in charge of only one of our two schools. Think about who makes up the Council and that might help you figure out which school is under their jurisdiction."

"Hmm. The council is a mixed bag of retired Shinobi and civilians. . ." his eyes widened as he said that. "That would mean they control the civilian school but then why have they always said they could help me get through the academy if they don't have equal control there?"

"They have no control over the academy, Sasuke, and if you'd listened to your main Sensei, you would have known that a long time ago. Since the academy turns out ninja instead of civilians who do you think controls it?"

Sasuke gulped as his situation was becoming clearer to him every second. His mind and body were waking up and his natural intelligence was telling him this was not a good situation for him, an Uchiha, to be in. "Since all Ninja answer to you and all the Sensei at the Academy are themselves ninja, then it logically follows that the academy is under your authority."

"So now. I will ask you again. What did the note given to you by Mizuki-Sensei say? Do not bother trying to lie. I will know if you do."

Sasuke sighed. In a small voice he said, "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Hai I have to admit you are in a bit of a spot. But it is one of your own making and you are the only one who can get you out of it. The question is, will you? I want to know about that note."

"Mizuki-Sensei gave it to me. It just said that he would meet me at the Uchiha Estate gates to discuss a make-up test which would allow me to earn enough points to pass the three tests I failed during the testing."

"And did he? Show up and give you a make-up test?"

"Hai. He said because I had failed the written portion I needed to show I had the intelligence a ninja needs to operate in the field. He gave me a map and told me that by proving I could read it and follow it, I would prove my intellect. Then, because I failed the field exam, I would need to break in here using stealth and recover a scroll I was not to open and get back out. That would prove I could be stealthy as well as beat the traps he'd put down for me as the room the scrolls are in was pretty full of them. For the taijutsu test, he said I might run across some nin who would try to stop me and might need to disable them. I wasn't to kill or permanently injured anyone. Just stop them pursuing me. If I did well, then I would earn enough points to allow me to pass the graduation exam and become a ninja."

"And how did you get the idea this was council approved?"

"He said he and Danzo would meet me at the spot on the map I was to go to once I had the scroll. They didn't though. All I found was a prank trap when I got there."

"Do you think you passed the test?"

"Not according to Hinata." No way would he ever admit to anyone he knew he had failed because the teacher had not met him at the assigned location. Nor had the one eyed councilman. "She caught up with me and beat the crap out of me for my lousy ability at stealth. I admit I didn't study stealth but Naruto has always been the king of that field and his traps are second to none. I never saw the need to practice an area I would never be the best at. But I never thought about not wearing my clan insignia or cologne." Sarutobi's lips twitched.

"Sasuke, I hate to tell you this but even if Danzo did approve a make-up test for you, it would not have gotten you a pass at the graduation. If you didn't notice, a member of the council was there when the announcement of who passed and who didn't was made. You did fail to graduate." The old man sighed at the crestfallen expression of the boy in front of him. "Now do you still have the map Mizuki gave you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I dropped it when I got caught in the trap. I dropped the scroll as well. It was just such a surprise. I still don't know why he put a trap there or why Danzo wasn't there to greet me with Mizuki."

"Probably because Danzo didn't know anything about it,' Sarutobi answered him. "As for the map and the scroll you dropped, are these them?" He held out the two items and Sasuke leaned forward to see them better. Reading Forbidden Scroll on the scroll he nodded and then sat back again in his seat. "Dropping it was pretty stupid but I will let that slide since I can understand how it happened and it was recovered before it fell into the wrong hands." he watched as understanding dawned in the boy's eyes. "Now which scroll were you told to take, Sasuke?"

"Um. The map had it listed as a Forbidden scroll so I looked around the scroll room until I saw one that said Forbidden on it and grabbed it. I didn't expect it to be so small though. You mean all those scrolls in there are really scrolls you protect?"

"Of course they are. What did you think? You mean you still think it was a bonafide test?" Sasuke nodded with a confused look. Sarutobi frowned again. "Sasuke you committed a treasonous act by breaking into this building and stealing a scroll even though you stole the wrong one. Did you even bother to fully read your instructions?"

"Huh?"

"I'm looking at the map now. I have to admit it does say you are to take the Forbidden Scroll but it goes on to say "Of Leaf Village Secret Techniques". It does not ever once mention the word _Suicide_."

Sasuke sat there in total embarrassment. It had never occurred to him that there might be more than one forbidden scroll so he had just grabbed the first one he saw. He'd been nervous anyway because it was a lot harder than he'd thought it would be and he wasn't sure he could get out without getting caught. He'd just wanted to grab a scroll and finish the test as quickly as he could to get his headband. But now he felt like crying. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. The Hokage had just said he had committed treason. He could go to prison but he was an Uchiha. He couldn't go to prsion with common thugs. Not even the Hokage would do that. Would he?

"Honestly I don't know what to do here. It's clear you didn't know what you were being asked to do. Not really and although I'm sure you did your best on this unauthorized test, and it's true the council wants you passed, since you have not yet activated your bloodline ability, and they do not feel you will do so in a classroom environment, but truthfully right now your skills are deficient. I was watching as you broke into my office and, if it had not been for some of my shadow nin, you would have been caught before you ever entered the scroll room itself. Then there is the fact that you grabbed the wrong scroll, which, in this case, is good for you because if you'd actually tried to grab the correct scroll, with your skills, you would be dead." he waited for that tidbit to sink in and when he saw it had finished what he had to say. "Naruto designed the traps and their layout and those traps are not prank traps." He watched as the color bled out of Sasuke's face, what little color the boy had anyway. Sasuke started blinking and shaking. "Then there is the reading of the map itself. It does not lead to the chunnin apartments, which is where you went. It leads to an abandoned shack in the forest. So that means you read it wrong. As for the taijutsu part, my shadow nin kept you from meeting anyone so you would not be exposed as we wanted to know why you were doing this."

"I messed up," Sasuke whispered.

"Hai you messed up but I agree with the council. You will not activate your Sharingan in the classroom and I do need one more graduate to be on a team with Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun so I will allow you to wear the Headband but you will do more than they will. You will go above and beyond to make up for the skills you Do Not Have because you were too arrogant to learn them. You will spend any time not on assignment with your team learning what you don't know under the direction of whomever I assign to teach you or you will be dropped from the program. You will be polite and well-mannered and greet them with humility. They will be your superior and you will treat them as such. Is that clear?"

"Hai." Sasuke's expression showed he was hardly daring to believe it had worked. He was a ninja. The Sandaime's words about his non-existent skills went in one ear and out the other as a grin he could not hide spread across his face.

"Fine. Get out of here. I will send your new teachers to you tomorrow or as soon as I can find anyone willing to teach you."

Sasuke leapt from the chair and bounced out of the office. He bounced all the way back to the compound well aware of just how lucky he'd gotten. His new headband, which the Hokage had handed to him just as he'd dismissed him, was still clutched tightly in his right fist as he happily crawled back between his sheets for more sleep. For once, Sasuke's sleep was filled with happy thoughts and dreams instead of his usual nightmares of the night the clan had died.

As Sasuke left the office Natsu and Hinata came out of their shadows. Both girls were glaring at the Hokage with enough venom to make Ibiki tremble. Sarutobi gulped and took a breath to speak only to be cut off by Natsu.

"Don't you even think of making us teach that Stupid Idiotic Stuck-up Arrogant Snobbish Teme of a Deadlast DOORKNOB. I refuse. . ."

"_Doorknob?" _mentally questioned the three remaining people in the office.

"You forgot wannabe Casanova," interrupted Hinata.

"He's not a wannabe Casanova, Hinata. That would mean he actually likes someone. But I did forget Son of a Floormat."

_"Son of a Floormat,"_ mentally questioned the same three people. Two went on to ask themselves, _"Where does she come up with these names?"_while the last just continued speaking outloud.

"Um. He does. Remember. I told you. He likes Naruto."

"Eww... HINATA! I told you. That's just gross. Don't say that again." Natsu screamed totally distracted from what she'd been yelling at Sarutobi over.

"Now that I have her distracted, I do have to agree with Natsu. It is not the best idea to have her assigned as his teacher given his feelings for Naruto," she said to Sarutobi, ignoring Natsu's rant. "Tutoring is usually a one on one situation and I really don't think he would listen to either Natsu or myself on any subject but he'd definitely not listen to Naruto."

"But he did acknowledge Naruto as the best in the field event," said Sarutobi.

"Jijii," Hinata said sadly shaking her head. "You've been an old man too long. He'll only want one thing if you put him alone in a room with Naruto."

Meanwhile Natsu was not listening and repeating "Ew Ew Ew" over and over and over again as she did a crazy dance around the room that included shivering periodically.

Sarutobi's reflected on the scenario Hinata had just pictured for him and his expression darkened. "That's probably true which is why I had never intended for you two to be his tutors. If I can I will get Iruka to handle his book learning and other jounins to handle the practicals he missed because he was too busy finding reasons to devote himself solely to his clan techniques. However, you two will be on his team and Natsu, after the team assignments, I will allow you to be yourself on the team. But that's only so long as you are in the village. If you go outside the safety of this village you will be Naruto. Is that clear?"

"Hai." She was now jumping up and down excitedly. Sarutobi sighed and motioned to Hinata to get her partner out of there and to bed before she started bouncing off the ceiling. The more tired Natsu got the more she had to move and the more she moved the wilder her motions became. From the way she was jumping around right now Sarutobi knew she had passed tired at least an hour back. She was now moving quickly into the territory known to those who knew her as Dead Girl Walking. In this state, she was at what was probably one of her most dangerous states, since she would not be able to resist pranking anyone who so much as looked at her funny, let alone said or did something they shouldn't. If the unfortunate victim was lucky they wouldn't die from the prank and if they were very lucky someone would come along who recognized her state of mental awareness and would distract her long enough for the victim to escape.

Right now Hinata was looking at her partner and frowning as she said, "Can you call Kakashi? She usually listens to him better than she does me when she's this tired and I don't think you want to wake up Iruka since you're gonna have to sweet talk him later into agreeing to tutor the Brat."

"_Well, at least now I know putting Kakashi as her genin team leader is a good idea._" thought Sarutobi as he again summoned an Anbu. When the girl appeared he had her go summon Kakashi to his office immediately pointing to Natsu and her jumping form as the reason for the summons so the Anbu would make sure to just grab the lazy, perpetually late jounin and bring him straight away. All Anbu knew not to let Natsu get this tired, just as they knew better than to give her any caffeine. The Anbu woman gave the Hokage a reproachful look and vanished in a swirl of leaves to get Kakashi. Thirty seconds later Kakashi stood in the office minus his shirt and still doing the button on his pants, though his mask was in place. He was shoeless and his hiatae was stuck in his pants pocket.

"You could have given me enough time to get fully dressed, you know. Another ten seconds wasn't gonna hurt anything," he grumbled.

As an answer the Anbu just pointed to Natsu who was jumping while looking up at the ceiling which was a good twenty feet above her head. What was scary was she was tumbling with each jump and her feet were getting closer to the surface of the ceiling with each jump she made.

"Oh, crap. She hasn't been to bed yet since the mission she did last night, has she? And I know she was up bright and early yesterday morning for her normal work-out routine before whatever else she did during the day. Who's fool idea was it to keep her up all night?"

"That would be mine," said Sarutobi, grinning not at all perturbed by the jounin calling him a fool.

Kakashi gulped but kept his eye on the bouncing form of the little girl as he tied his headband in place. "Um. Sorry Hokage-sama. It's just . . . she's hard to handle when she's this tired." He finished dressing and then sighed. Well, waiting did no good and wouldn't improve things one little bit. The dug-out she and Hinata lived in wasn't all that far away but the hard part would be getting her past the donut shop and the fresh coffee stand without her getting either one. "Come on, Natsu. Your bed is calling you now. Time to go beddie-bye."

She stopped jumping for a few seconds and he got a clear look at her eyes. "Oh hiya Kashi. I took care of Mizuki for you. Now say thank-you, Natsu."

"But taking him in was your job, Natsu," Kakashi answered her.

"Nuh-uh. I never touched him until after you helped him stand. Therefore, it was your job to take him to Ibiki." She grinned. "But I'm better at that than you are so I did you a favor. Say thank-you." She singsonged as she began jumping again. This time she was trying to propel herself from one side of the office to the other.

Deciding it was better to just get her out of here than argue about it, Kakashi murmured, "Thank-you Natsu. Now let's get you home so you can sleep." He tried to catch her as she flew past him intent on the wall behind him.

She hit it head first and sat up rubbing her head from where she'd crashed to the floor. Quickly she stood up and said, "But I'm not tired, Kashi. I'm hungry," and like a flash she was out of the door.

"Oh shit," could be heard from three different people as Hinata and Kakashi took off after her. Sarutobi pressed his Anbu call button yet again and waited impatiently for the same Anbu that had gotten Kakashi to arrive. When she did he told her, "Assemble the Anbu. Full Alert. Natsu is on the hunt for caffeine and she's so tired she doesn't know what she's doing."

The Anbu gulped and nodded. He barely heard her murmur, "Oh Shit" before she poofed and was gone.

Meanwhile Hinata and Kakashi were chasing Natsu who was leaping from roof to roof and screaming with joy at the feeling of freedom and the wind in her hair. Her hair was flying behind her and seemed to have a life of it's own as the rising sun caught the red and gold strands and brought them to sparkling life. Spying a coffee vendor, who had just opened his shop and set out a box of chocolate covered donuts, Natsu dropped to street level and began searching for her froggie-chan. She was frowning mightily as she searched for it.

Luckily the vendor recognized her as one of two people in the whole village he was under pains of death by torture if he ever sold her his wares. The whole village had received the same warning. Anyone caught selling Natsu or Naruto any kind of caffeinated food or beverage would be put to death via the most horrendous torture known to man. Of course, no one had any idea what that was but considering they lived in a world filled with ninja, no civilian had much trouble deciding they would follow the proclamation. Besides the Prankster King of Konoha got into enough mischief without having more energy because he ate or drank something with caffeine in it. And everyone had heard of Natsu as well. They all knew she was Naruto's equal when it came to the energy and stamina department. She was just better behaved than he was. Usually.

Right now the vendor dove for his chocolate covered donuts to hide them away before she could find her money. She swiped one and took a big bite just as he grabbed the tray. "Yummy Yummy Yummy," she told him happily. Then pointing over her shoulder she said, "They'll pay you, since I'm sure she has my froggie-chan."

She took a second bite just as the chocolate hit her system. Her eyes went wide as her pupils contracted and the vendor began to quiver in fear. Yelling out to his fellow vendors he called out the alarm. "Red Alert. RED ALERT! Natsu ate Chocolate. RED ALERT!"

Immediately vendors who had been in the process of setting up their carts and stalls closed them up and the carts were wheeled away as the stalls were boarded over. Vendors themselves ran for cover, hoping and praying the damage would not be too great, while yelling the alert as they went so everyone would know to get off the streets and they hoped the Hokage would not blame them for the mess the marketplace was about to become. Natsu began spinning in place and Kakashi and Hinata just groaned. They knew now there was no point in trying to intercept Natsu. They would just have to wait her out. Shakily Hinata pointed out the dropped donut with two bites missing.

"Oh Shit," muttered Kakashi. "This is gonna take hours." Hinata just nodded. The Anbu that had been assembled at the Hokage's request showed up and asked for a situational report. "She is over tired and she got here before we did. Hinata managed to get her wallet but she swiped a chocolate covered donut and ate a bite before anyone could stop her. She is now on a rampage through the market district with two bites of chocolate in her system."

The Anbu began to shake and one could not hold back his comment. "I'm gonna die." He was new to the Anbu just having joined last week. His superiors didn't bother to contradict him though. Caffeine induced chases were bad enough but if she was tired on top of it, this was gonna be a nightmare.

Luckily Natsu was still plenty ticked off with Sasuke so she headed for his estate. Using her whirlwind traveling technique, which she could only do when she was hyped up from either a lack of sleep or from a boost of caffeine, she tore through the streets of the village on her way to the abandoned sector of the village known as the Uchiha district. The more chocolate that hit her system the wider her whirlwind grew until she resembled a miniature tornado tearing through the streets. True to a tornado's destructive power, cobblestones and bricks littered the areas she tore through. Over turned and tumbled garbage cans spilled their contents like a drunk spills his guts after one too many drinks. Products that hadn't been secured well enough against her passage and which vendors had hoped to sell for a profit were now lying broken and tattered amidst the rubble. When she passed through the gate of the compound she left one of them twisted and unrecognizable on the ground while the other hung by a single hinge. She screamed as she tore through the streets of his district, "Sasuke! Get your Lazy Spoilt Doorknob-licking Toe-sucking Ass out here. You Perverted excuse of a wannabe Jackass. Where the hell are you?" On and on the list went with the names getting wilder and wilder the more time went by without her finding Sasuke.

Now Sasuke heard her shouting for him to come out and face her but, like the rest of the village, he wasn't totally lacking in a brain. Being smarter than the average turnip, he turned the other way instead and went into hiding. Down three levels under the main house was a sub-basement built at the time of the compound's construction and he knew he would be safe from whatever that whirling devil out there had planned for him. He didn't even know who it was and he was damn sure, as he ran for cover, that he hadn't done a damn thing to deserve whatever she planned for him.

Natsu searched for Sasuke for about six hours, tearing up the Uchiha district as she searched. She blew over cherry trees and Sakura Blossom trees in her search and uprooted sheds and other small buildings just in case the unlucky Uchiha was hiding underneath any of them even though they'd been firmly planted into the ground. She left in her wake total destruction worse than the destruction Itachi had left the night he massacred the clan. He'd inadvertly set some of the buildings ablaze but what she was doing was literally tearing them down as she cut swath after swath through the district looking for her chosen victim. Finally the tornado that was her began to disperse and the weary Anbu who had by this time been replaced with a different shift were beginning to hope they would get her brought to ground before she tore up a populated area of the village. There were five anbu equipped with blowguns. Each had a full supply of darts laced with sleeping powder, the formula of which was heavy enough to knock out a bull elephant in full rut with a contender in full view between him and his chosen female. Now the Anbu, who numbered twenty in all, closed in on her position and got ready for the tornado to disappear. They knew she was tired but she was at her most dangerous when the caffeine began to wear off and the sleep deprivation took over. All they could hope for was to hit her with the sleep darts before the caffeine totally wore off and she began sleep walking.

Finally the shot came as they saw her waver next to a small shed she'd just toppled. "Sasuke, you toe jam, dickmouthed, cadaver worm, where the hell are you?" she slurred. "Are you hiding under here?" She pouted as her mind struggled to think of where the stuck-up brat was. All through the district, lumber, some of which was old and rotting, lay in tumbled heaps just waiting for a touch of a match to light them up and return them to their natural beginnings. Her hands began flicking through the signs for the fire flower jutsu as the first dart hit her in the neck. The signs slowed but didn't stop as she brought her hands to her mouth and filled her lungs with chakra enhanced air. The second dart hit her neck and her focus wavered but still she breathed out and a small ball of fire impacted with the scrap lumber of the shed she'd just toppled. She spun around still spitting fire as the third dart hit and her knees buckled. Another three buildings went up in flames before she was finally down.

Kakashi and Hinata, who'd given up the chase shortly after she'd eaten the donut since they knew there'd be no stopping her until the caffeine ran it's course, had come back half an hour ago and now they both moved forward to pick her up and get her home before something else went wrong. Sarutobi met them at the ruined gates of the compound with a questioning gaze.

"She's fine," Kakashi answered his unspoken question.

"Just very tired," assured Hinata.

"It seems the darts did their job and the sooner she's in her bed the better for all of us," said Kakashi. "Over all, most of the damage was confined to this sector of the village and since all these were abandoned buildings I'd say we got off pretty lightly. Lucky for us, she's still upset with Sasuke. Although I'm sure the twenty or so Anbu that are now patients in the hospital don't feel the same way."

Sarutobi looked Natsu over and was relieved to see she was sound asleep, thanks to the sleep drug, and would probably sleep for the next day or so. It was good it was the weekend, though ninja did not really get a day off, he'd had no plans for his granddaughters over the weekend so she would miss nothing by sleeping it away. All he'd been going to do was talk to the girls about how much to tell Kakashi since he would be the Sensei of their genin team but he could do that without Natsu since the girls were fed up with disguising themselves all the time. For now he nodded and said, "Get her home and help Hinata get her into bed. Then report to my office. We have some things to discuss about your upcoming team."

"The Uchiha scion. I know. Pass the brat or else. Already got the talk from the council."

"Actually he's not the only one we need to talk about but there are things you need to know regarding him as well."

Kakashi raised a brow as he walked between Hinata and the Sandaime. The villagers breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw Natsu sleeping peacefully in his arms. When it came to Natsu on a caffeine trip, the only person who got glared at, was the idiot that let her have it and that poor vendor had just decided to take a well earned vacation rather than to face the scorn of the village over his choice of wares and his ill-luck at having just set out his wares for sale that particular morning at that particular time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: As Always I don't own Narutoverse though it would be really nice if I did. Then maybe there'd be room in my kitchen to prepare food for eating or for setting cooked food so everybody can dish it up. Heck there might even be clean dishes we don't have to wash before we can eat. . . . Wow. . . that hasn't happened in so long. . . .(drools dreaming about last time she didn't need to wash dishes just to eat)**

A Different Reality

Chapter Three

The Eyes Have It

From noon on Saturday until Sunday morning, Natsu slept the sleep of the truly deserving. Hinata went to the meeting with Sarutobi so they could discuss what to tell Kakashi about the two of them. Sarutobi wanted to tell him he was getting the pair of them so he wouldn't be surprised when Naruto dropped his henge but Hinata told him it wasn't necessary to tell him any such thing.

"Jijii, you really think he wouldn't have investigated what Natsu and I have been doing for the last four years? She's his Goddaughter and his last link to her parents. Of course he snooped. He's known all along she was Naruto."

"He has? But he never said a word." Sarutobi blinked and then laughed at himself. "I really am getting too old for this. Of course he'd look for her when she dropped out of sight. And when he found her pretending to be a boy, he would know it was an undercover mission and keep it quiet until given leave to say something."

"Yep. His exact words were _'Since I wasn't informed than I am not supposed to know,'_".

"Ok. Then I don't need to worry about having him in here all ticked off because he didn't know and therefore wasn't keeping an eye on Naruto as well as Natsu. That's good to know." He sighed and rubbed his old eyes tiredly. "Just how much of your own story does he know? And how much do you want him to know?"

"Actually I'm not sure how much he knows. I know he knows I am different from other Hyuuga and that, like Natsu, I have two sources of energy I can call upon. He knows I live with Natsu because, like her, I am under your protection since my status as 'not a normal Hyuuga' would mark me for death. He knows Otousan knows I am different and that it was Otousan who brought me to you after the clan council killed Kaasan for birthing me. Other than that, I am not too sure how much he knows. The Hyuuga clan doesn't make their records all that public and Hyuuga like me are only born once every hundred years or so and most don't make it passed the first day their eyes change. Because Otousan loves me I did but I have also kept my different eyes hidden under a spirit induced henge so I don't know if he thinks I am a throwback, and therefore have only normal skills to call upon, or if he knows exactly what I am."

"Ok. Do you want him to know? I trust him but I think it is your decision. However, consider your answer carefully. He can only truly give you the protection you need if he knows exactly why you need it. If he thinks Natsu's protection is more important than he might just choose her over you in the presence of a Hyuuga other than your Otousan and that would be just as bad as Natsu involved with anyone from Rock Country."

"And because he knows Natsu and I have been trained by you, since he has done missions with us, he practically knows everything already. Yeah, we should go ahead and tell him my story just in case he doesn't know it yet, though knowing him he does."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sarutobi blinking again.

"Well, I'm sure he did some investigating when he found out I was living with Natsu. He is very protective of her. So he'd want to know exactly why the oldest daughter of the Hyuuga Head of Clan was living out of her traditional compound and away from her clan. I'm not sure what he managed to find out but, knowing him, it probably isn't all that far off the mark."

"Ok. Do you want to be present when I tell him or do you want to tell him yourself when you're ready?"

"I'll tell him when he stops by the dug-out to check on Natsu tonight. He always checks on us when he's in the village. Natsu calls it his curfew check." She giggled at the mental image of Natsu saying those words. She'd would always pout and stamp her foot with her arms crossed over her chest. He'd always respond by sending them to bed and staying long enough to make sure they did go to bed.

Meanwhile Sasuke was reporting the destructive act against his compound the day before and demanding that the council do something to apprehend the culprit who was yelling the most obscene things at him while tearing the uninhabited region of the compound to shreds. Most the council took in the set of his face and dismissed any thought of actually trying to catch the culprit. Danzo took Sasuke's claim seriously. Here was a bargaining chip he figured he could put to good use at some point in time to get the boy into his ROOT program of young ninja.

"So you want us to find the person or persons who wrecked the lower end of your family compound and charge them for destruction of property," he said.

"And the vile insults to my person," Sasuke said arrogantly. "I am not some mere commoner to be insulted by riffraff from the gutters."

"Hmm," said Danzo. "What's in it for us? We are not the police to investigate petty offenses."

"But. . ." Sasuke floundered for a few minutes, blinking rapidly. "I'm an Uchiha. My clan is gone. How are they supposed to investigate this crime and arrest the guilty peasant now? Someone has to do it." Even Sasuke was smart enough to know just because his clan had run the Police Department before their demise did not mean he had the sole authority or the expertise needed to go arresting people as a police officer of Konoha. Not only was he not skilled enough to do it he simply didn't know enough about the laws of the village to do so responsibly.

"It's not our job," Danzo insisted. "Our job is to make sure those who have legitimate needs in the village get those needs at least heard by the Hokage. You could present your claim for damages to him," he suggested. "You are after all, one of his ninja now."

"However," said Koharu, Sarutobi's old teammate from their genin days. "I wouldn't expect very much from it if you do present a claim to him. He is just as likely to say the perpetrator did you a favor in clearing the land the way they did. Now those old buildings aren't standing there to remind you any more of who used to live in them. That is, if you even knew in the first place." The tone of her voice said she would be very surprised if he did.

"So what you're saying is he'll do nothing," Sasuke said, frustration rolling off him in waves.

Koharu inclined her head. "It is unlikely. The insults you say the perpetrator hollered at you are mere hearsay unless you have someone who can attest to them in which case you would have to state each insult precisely as it was given. And words are just words, Sasuke. Even if they were as you claim the 'most vile of insults' they could not really harm you."

"So Konoha is basically lawless now?" Sasuke asked.

"No," insisted Hiashi. "We just don't bother to mess around with petty offenses. The bigger ones, like murdering your best friend over power, or raping someone to beget an heir or aid in getting them ousted from their social position, we still take care of. The Hokage still takes care of the drunks and any mobs that form intent on mischief, but someone tearing down derelict buildings and yelling insults, well I'm sure you can see how that is a low priority for both him and us. You didn't even say what those insults were so we have no idea as to whether they actually were inappropriate or not. You are an intelligent young man, after all so I am sure you can see how this looks to us. We do have more serious issues to tend to then something this petty."

"Petty? It's not petty to me! I thought I was important to you people," Sasuke said, his anger leaking through. "Ever since my clan vanished, you've told me you would take care of things for me. Now I bring you an issue and you're brushing me aside. You lied to me. You said you would make sure I passed the genin exam in the Academy but I didn't. I had to take a make-up exam and then you weren't even there to check my work. Now you say you won't take care of someone vandalizing my property and insulting my good name. What exactly will you people do to help me?"

Nara Shikato sat up straight finally interested in what the young Uchiha had to say. Several other members of the council were also paying attention now. Danzo was growling angrily and several civilian members were cringing in their seats trying to think how to shut the boy up before he blew everything out of the water.

Shikato said, "Who told you they would make sure you passed the genin entrance exam?"

"Mizuki said Danzo told him that I could do ninjutsu with my taijutsu and that he'd make sure I passed the written exam as well. Mizuki also said he was to fix my kenjutsu exam so I would pass that one also. He was to fix the field event also but he said no matter what he tried on that test, there was no way anyone would beat Naruto at it so I'd just have to do my best on that. He said it didn't matter though because I would ace the written, kenjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu portions and no one else would do anywhere near as well. He said Danzo told him to make sure I got Rookie of the Year but I didn't. I didn't even pass because I believed Danzo had it all set-up already so I didn't even try." Sasuke took a deep breath trying to calm himself down but the killer intent rolling off Danzo was suffocating him and making it hard for him to breathe.

"Then Mizuki slipped a note to me, telling me he'd meet me at my compound to tell me a different way you guys had set up for me to pass and that he and Danzo would meet me afterwards to compare my results but both Mizuki and Danzo were a no-show. I got beat up by some strange girl for my so called lousy stealth ability and turned into a human bird feeder for my trouble in taking the alternate test." He'd decided, while he'd been hiding under his compound while that girl had torn up his family lands, there was no way he would admit it was Hinata who'd beat the crap out of him for his lousy stealth abilities.

Several councilmen had to turn their heads aside lest they laugh outright at the furious boy in front of them. One of the civilians had to ask, "Human bird feeder?"

Another said, "You let a random unknown girl beat you up?"

"Hai and iie. Someone laid down a trap at the location the map Mizuki gave me told me to go. It was a peanut oil and sesame seed trap that when triggered covered the person with the mixture and then triggered a false sunrise to call the morning birds out of their slumber. Since I triggered it I got to enjoy the most pleasant sensation of tiny little morning birds pecking seeds off my skull and pulling my hair in the process but no, I didn't simply allow some strange girl to beat me up. I was in shock from the stupid trap and she attacked before I could sense her presence. Then she took off before I could retaliate," he said, acidly, since many of the councilmen were now snickering while trying to act like they weren't. In his head, he admitted he hadn't really tried to fight her, since the events of the day had just finally reached the point of overwhelming him. He had run off home to hide from the rotten events of the day and hopefully pretend it hadn't happened and was just a bad dream he'd wake up from.

"Oh, dear," said Koharu. "It does sound like yesterday was not a good day for you. But you must realize we all have bad days once in a while. We don't go trying to make mountains out of them when we do. We just go to bed and sleep it off. Why don't you try that?"

Sasuke fists were clenched at his sides, his face beat red with anger he could not hide as he shouted, "I did! And some STUPID Peasant Girl came running into MY Compound yelling Vile Insults AND TORE THE HELL OUT OF MY LAND!"

The elder Ino Shika Cho team blinked at him. They could almost see the steam rolling off him. Inuzuka Tsume could not hold her laughter in any longer. She gave a hoarse bark and suddenly the entire council was laughing at the irate boy standing in front of them. Danzo wasn't laughing but even he couldn't quite concentrate on what he was planning to trick the boy into agreeing to as he quietly said, "A Girl? You let a girl demolish your estate? And you didn't even try to stop her? Was this the same girl that beat on you while you were stunned from the trap you triggered?"

Sasuke gave him a look of non-understanding. "I may have believed Mizuki, and done as he instructed me, believing you people had already taken care of things for me but I am not suicidal," he said.

The council was mainly in slight chaos as the normally dignified members enjoyed the first hilarious situation they'd been told of in weeks. Even Hiashi was smirking over the things Natsu and Hinata had done to the boy, and he knew very well it was those two girls whom Sasuke had ticked off. Sasuke gave everyone a look of disgust and turned on his heel, the sounds of the councils mirth following him out of the chambers.

Later that day Hiashi reported the scene to the Hokage as the two men sat enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet in Sarutobi's office. "The girls got him good. Once he sees them again he's going to react one of two ways. He's either going to try to fight them and prove his superiority or he's gonna go running for home screaming and crying for his Momma," snickered Hiashi.

Sarutobi grinned. "Maybe both since they are on his team and both are still upset with him. They will not take it easy on him and since his Jounin-Sensei is Kakashi, he'll find his team does not dance to his wishes. Kakashi will not see anything the girls do to put Sasuke in his place but he will see everything the Uchiha does to try and even the score."

"So you believe he will protect Hinata as well as Natsu?"

"Hai. I know he will. It seems he has known for a long time about the girls and their alter egos."

Hiashi felt he could finally relax now that he knew Hinata's new Sensei would not betray her to the Hyuuga council behind their backs. The Council knew she was still alive and they knew what she was but so far they had not been able to reach her to kill or brand her. The branch members loyal to him had done a good job taking out anyone sent by the council to end her life but with her as an official genin now it would only get harder for him to shelter her.

That night when Kakashi came by to check on Natsu and Hinata he found Hinata sitting calmly in the sitting room the girls used to study scrolls of new techniques given them by either Sarutobi or Hiashi. He did a quick bed check on Natsu and then went to see what Hinata was up to. She was still sitting where he had first seen her but now there was a pot of tea and two cups waiting. He got the hint.

"What's up, Hinata?"

"Jijii," she said with a soft smile. "He's nervous and it's preying on his mind now that Natsu and I are growing older and being seen more and more. He wants to know we have all the protection we need for all the right reasons. To relieve his mind, I told him I would make sure you knew why I am under his protection the same as Natsu is instead of living with my clan."

"That's simple. If you lived there, you'd be dead already."

She grinned quickly. "I told him you would have already figured it out but he is still nervous so how much of my story do you know, Kakashi-san?"

"I know that like Natsu you have two types of chakra to call on. I know that your second chakra is connected to your eyes which while still being able to see like all byakugan users are somehow different. How they are different, I do not know but I know they are. I know that your father brought you to the Hokage for your protection after your clan elders killed your mother over your eyes. I know he loves you and doesn't want you to die. I also know you are being protected not just by the Hokage but also by some of the branch members loyal to your father. I am still trying to put a name to every one of them that is a loyal supporter but that is rather like pulling my own hair out sometimes. I don't know why your council feels threatened by your eyes or what this second chakra is good for."

"Ok. Like I thought you have most the story and really what you don't have isn't very much. My clan feels threatened by my eyes because I see more than they do. They see the chakra points in the body but I see everything when I activate my byakugan. That's how I know Sasuke will not achieve the Sharingan as well as the fact that he is not only sterile but impotent as well. I know a simple surgery will correct the impotence factor but children are not something he will ever have naturally. As for the second chakra it is useful for genjutsu but not much else unless it's mixed with my normal chakra, in which case it just enhances whatever I do with it. Basically that means when I do the clan taijutsu with chakra on my palms I have to be alot more careful not to kill my sparring partner."

"Anyway the reason the council is willing to kill me is because they have been trying to convince the world the Hyuuga are warriors only but my eyes are best for medical. When I channel my spirit chakra to my eyes I can see everything about a person which means I can tell you exactly what brought you in to see a doctor in the first place. There is no better doctor than the one who can in a glance tell you exactly what is wrong with your body and do so without causing your any physical discomfort. Add to that the fact that I can still kick anyone's tailside that messes with a patient of mine using the same exact techniques the clan prides itself on and you can see their issue. If every Hyuuga could get my eyes I doubt it would be a problem for them but these eyes are rare. Our records show they only show up once every hundred years or so."

"Ok so that explains all the medical texts and scrolls you girls have. But if your eyes still allow you to use the byakugan why would they. . ." he fell quiet as it occurred to him what the Hyuuga problem might really be. "Oh. It's that pride thing again. Hyuuga can not be seen as having any throwbacks like the Uchiha do with the children like Sasuke who will not develop the special clan eye."

"That and the power that the elders don't want to relinquish." At his blank look she explained. "Old Clan laws say that when a child is born with the white eyes of the clan and then later those white eyes take on color they are to be leader of the clan and protected by all members of the clan. No one in the clan is superior to that person because that person truly does have an all-seeing eye. I see your chakra points, your health related issues and your aura. Because of this, I know you. This . . . seeing was felt by the old-timers to elevate the child with the colored eyes above the others of the clan. But then they mistook a normal child for a Aura-eyed child and spoilt the kid rotten much like what has been done with Sasuke. The child was very intelligent, like all Aura-Eyed girls, and, because she was spoilt, she pit the clan against each other, claiming faults with members she didn't like and getting others to kill them for those faults. Remember, she had colored eyes but I said she was a normal child? This means she could not see the chakra points so she could not kill them herself using the clan fighting style. To try would have revealed her secret and she was smart enough to know what would happen then. She is the one who instituted the bird seal and separated the houses though. And by the time her immediate family found out what had occurred with her the damage was done. Her family became the main branch while those she didn't like were labeled Branch and protectors of Main."

"What happened to her?"

"Her sister, the true holder of Aura-Eyes, killed her and then she killed herself. The family should have known the sister was the true holder by her personality but this was back in the early days of the clan and they were still learning about our dojutsu and the different aspects of it. They decided, since it would be at least another ninety years before a child with the eyes was born again, to make sure no one would be considered clan if they had anything but the pure white eyes of the byakugan user. The Aura Eyes are always marked by a faint color tint to the eyes but the clan of that day figured the more color the eye held the stronger the Aura-Eye was in the person. They didn't understand until it was too late and they figured if they had misunderstood the text then future generations would also. She almost destroyed the clan and they feared the next time a normal child took the role of clan leader the clan would be destroyed. I have to admit they did have a point."

"So if your clan finds out you have these eyes they will kill you."

"Hai. But they do know I have them. It's why they killed Kaasan as soon as she birthed Hanabi. And Hanabi is closely watched though since I am alive and bear the eyes they do not feel Hanabi will get them. But her line will be watched for the next bearer of the Eye."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because every person who has ever gotten the Eye can trace their lineage back to the one who held it last. My ancestor was the true Aura-Eye Holder one hundred years ago. Most clans trace their lineage through the male. My clan, because of the Aura-Eye, does not. We trace it through the female since the first user was female and every user since then has been of her direct line. Mother to sister to grandmother. Until the clan started killing the children as soon as the eye became apparent it was Grandmother to Mother to Daughter but it skipped to a sister when the holder died as a child. I don't quite understand why killing the child who held the Eye before they could have a child of their own caused it to activate in her nearest female kin but it did and so the clan still has it whether they like it or not."

Kakashi shook his head and sighed as he rubbed one hand over his silver locks pondering the information he'd been given. "So basically we keep you out of Cloud and Mist and away from your clan. We keep Natsu away from Mist and Iwa and ninety percent of the village of Konoha. Sheesh. Not many places left we can go is there?"

"Nope. But Natsu and I have always known our lives will mostly be undercover. She and I just aren't normal girls."

"Is there anyone in your clan I don't need to send running for the hills as soon as I see them?"

"My cousin, Neji. He became a genin last term and Otousan uses him to pass me messages from time to time. He doesn't much like me because my alter is shy and downtrodden which he perceives as weak but it also gives him a reason for why I do not live in the compound. He will talk of a lack of understanding as to why I am unbranded but Tousan told him if I am branded I will die as I am not strong enough to live through the process. That is simple truth. The brand will kill me as it will burn out my eyes and begin a cascade failure no power on earth could stop. But to Neji, I am my Father's weakness simply because he lets me live."

"So we trust him? Even knowing this?"

"Hai. Sometimes things are happening that Otousan needs for me to know but he can not reach me to tell me himself due to being too closely watched so Neji will carry the message because everyone knows he does not like me. Therefore, no one even suspects he is bringing me warning. And no matter how weak he thinks I am, he will not disobey Otousan. Otousan has him in line to become clan head should something happen to Hanabi and that is an honor that branch members are normally not allowed. It is unusual but allowable because Neji's Otousan was Tousan's twin brother and both our Kaasan's were sisters as well."

"But the clan council is not likely to do anything to depose Hanabi, are they? I mean so long as you are alive the Aura-Eyes will not activate in her if I understand you correctly about them."

"No. She will not get the eyes even if they do manage to catch and kill me. Her descendants however will if I do not live long enough to produce my own offspring. Since Neji is his Kaasan's only child and she is dead already as is my Kaasan, Hanabi and I are the only two left who can pass the eye along. That is why Otousan set Neji up in the line of succession."

"I don't understand."

"The elders think if they can catch and kill me and then kill Hanabi they will end the threat of the Eye in the Main branch. They will not. Neji may be a boy but his descendants if there are no females to carry the gene along will pass it through themselves to the next born female who will then become the matriarch holder of the Eye. For most Hyuuga the gene is recessive. It will only become active in a female but males are carriers as well."

"So all the Aura-Eye Holders have been girls?"

Hinata tilted her head just as Natsu would. "Didn't I say that?" she queried him softly.

"Uh. No. Not exactly. You just said you were all on a direct maternal line."

"Oh. Well. Yeah. Every holder of the Aura-Eye that the clan has ever recorded is female. But why, if a boy could hold the Aura-Eye, would we make the clan a matriarchal clan rather than the normal patriarch type?"

"I would guess because the first user was female but that still didn't mean she could not have ultimately passed it on to a son generations down the line."

Hinata nodded. "I suppose you could be correct. But it is false. If the Elders catch me they will kill me and than to stop the Eye from passing down the line they will kill Hanabi. That is why Otousan has Neji in the line of succession. At the moment of Hanabi's death he will become the carrier of the true Aura-Eye but he will not hold it himself. One of his daughters one hundred years from now will."

"So the only true way to end the Eye is to kill every blood connection to the present holder be they male or female."

She grinned. "Hai but they won't do that. Because if you go back in the records every Hyuuga is related one way or another to the Aura-Eye holder. It will simply keep passing through the line from one to the next until it becomes active in the child born at the right time closest in line of succession to the last known holder. Even if the Elders were to kill Otousan, Neji, Hanabi and I they would not get rid of the Eye."

"Oh man. Dojutsu clans have more issues. . ." Kakashi said chuckling.

"All bloodline clans have issues, Kakashi-san. It's just everyone pays more attention to the dojutsu users than the other types. We are easier to recognize and therefore easier to judge.

**Author Remarks: Ok I know this chapter is not as funny as the last two but Natsu is asleep and no one is all that funny when they are sleeping. Hinata is Natsu's counter-part and her character needed development for you, my readers. She is Natsu's partner and foil. Therefore, she is serious where Natsu is funny. Hope you can bear with the chapter and remember reviews bring more chapters as Hubby and I think of them and we do have some ideas. But it's up to you. . . . . . .**


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